Indonesian firms join RP satellite project
Indonesian firms join RP satellite project
MANILA (AFP): A consortium including Chinese and Indonesian
partners said yesterday it planned to launch a Philippine
satellite in 1996, two years ahead of the scheduled launch of
another bird planned by a consortium of Filipino
telecommunications firms.
Jacinto Paras, director of the Philippine Communications
Satellite Corp. (Philcomsat), said the group includes Indonesian
firms Pacific Satelit Nusantra and PT Telkom, and the China-based
Everbright Group Ltd.
He said the satellite would not compete with the plans of the
16-member Agila consortium to launch its own domestic satellite
by 1998 at the urging of the Philippine government.
The Philcomsat consortium also includes dominant carrier
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), broadcast station
GMA-7, and Cable Entertainment.
Both Philcomsat and PLDT are also members of the Agila
consortium, an equal partnership which has yet to select a
satellite firm for the launch. Paras said Philcomsat has a 10
percent stake in the other satellite project.
Paras said the orbital slots required for the second
consortium have been made available by the Indonesian firms.
"Following the principle of free enterprise, ours is a private
consortium and it's a viable project so we will push through,"
Paras said.
The Agila consortium charged last week that the other
consortium's satellite would be a direct competitor.
Paras said however that while the satellite launch by the
consortium would provide domestic and regional services, it would
complement Agila since the 16 telecoms players involved would be
required to come up with six million to seven million lines under
their agreement with the National Telecommunications Commission.
"This demand alone will already consume transponder space so
Agila is still viable," he said.
The Philippine-Indonesian-Chinese consortium has yet to
determine what steps it will take following the Agila
consortium's rejection of the seven percent equity in their
regional satellite.
Manila is seeking free transponder space on the Agila
satellite in exchange for applying for an orbital slot, something
only governments are empowered to do. Their application for this
slot is still pending.
The Philippines currently leases space on Indonesia's
satellite.