GSM 1800 for Telkom, Indosat

JAKARTA (JP): The government will award PT Telkom and PT Indosat with new licenses as mobile telephone operators for the GSM 1800 format as part of its plan to turn the two firms into full network service providers, a government official said.

Secretary-general of post and telecommunications Sasmito Dirdjo said on Thursday that the new licenses would likely be delivered in August.

The government will unlikely issue any more licenses in the near future for the wireless telephone sector, including for the third generation technology CDMA, he said on the sidelines of the Indonesian International Telecommunications and Media Information Technology (IITELMIT) 2000 exhibition in the Jakarta Convention Center.

The existing GSM operators -- Telkomsel, Excelcomindo and Satelindo, which operate the GSM 900 -- will not be given the GSM 1800 licenses, Sasmito said, adding that the three are encouraged to optimize the use of their current frequencies. (cst)