Indosat expects growth in IPVPN
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Telecommunications firm PT Indosat expects a growing trend in the use of Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IPVPN) as people begin to see the benefits of electronic business solutions.
The technology enables a company to connect various types of computers including those of employees, customers and stakeholders within the firm's network, even when they are far apart. Indosat has developed wireless connections to meet corporations' needs for flexible, simple and integrated communications services.
"With the technology, employers can ensure their business is running even though their employees and stakeholders are some distance away," Indosat's vice president for Product Development I, Triongko Putro Agus, told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.
Triongko said Indosat's IPVPN, which covers an area of service in over 20 countries in the Asia Pacific, has two types of features: Direct IPVPN and Dial IPVPN.
Direct IPVPN, which has connectivity speed ranging from 64 kilo bits per second (kpbs) to 2,048 kpbs, can be used for intranets as well as local area networks (LAN).
Dial IPVPN is an additional service to Direct IPVPN, by which corporate customers can link into the company's LAN using transmission control protocol or internet protocol (TCP/IP).
Indosat IPVPN is suitable for data transfer, voice communications, fax, video streaming, video conferencing and email.
An economist with the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), Aviliani, stated Internet and data communication services in the country has an annual growth rate of over 50 percent.
Internet users have increased to over 11 million people, from eight million in 2003, and is projected to continue grow to 16 million users in 2005.
Since 2003, mobile phone users have doubled from 8.5 million to 18.6 million people.
Indosat is now focussing its services more on mobile communications. It has developed mobile communications services by providing corporates with MIDI (multimedia-interactive-data communications-Internet) that allow services such as IPVPN.
Besides Indosat IPVPN, MIDI services include other programs: first, the Indosat Frame Net, a frame-relay packet-switched network equipped with flexible bandwidth which enable users to send data with big capacity in a short time without additional charges.
Second, Indosat World Link, a digital communications system with speeds of 64 kpbs to 2 mega bits per second (Mbps), that provides users with 24-hour worldwide point-to-point access.
Similar to World Link, Indosat Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) enables users to send voice, fax, text or image data, not just from point-to-point, but also point-to-multipoint and multipoint-to-multipoint across the world at a faster speed.
Indosat Direct Link links oil, gas and mining-related corporates to its remote companies or subsidiaries. The service is supported using VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) and direct satellite link for data, voice applications and video conferencing.
Triongko of Indosat said that his company ranked first in the country for MIDI international market, and second in the domestic market. "We are expecting a fixed annual growth of 25 percent in the trend for MIDI," he said. (001)