Indosat injects extra fund for IM3

Indosat injects extra fund for IM3

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned telecommunications company PT Indosat said on
Thursday that it would inject an additional Rp 1.5 trillion
(US$143.5 million) for the development and expansion of its
cellular service, Indosat Multi Media Mobile (IM3).

Indosat's executive vice president for corporate development
Budi Prasetyo said that the funding would be generated internally
and that the plan had been approved by the shareholders during an
Indosat shareholders' meeting on the same day.

He said that the company was likely to inject an additional Rp
200 billion into IM3 to support the first phase of the cellular
network expansion, which it was estimated would cost
approximately US$170 million.

IM3 provides services using the global system for mobile
communications (GSM) at 1800 megahertz frequency, or what is
commonly known as DCS-1800.

During the initial phase, the company had begun servicing
Jakarta, Surabaya in East Java, Semarang in Central Java, Batam
in Riau, and Bali.

The company had said earlier that the second phase of the IM3
network was set to become operational in 2002, and would cover
the northern coast of Java, Medan in North Sumatra, Pekanbaru in
Riau, Dumai-Tanjung Pinang in Riau province, Pontianak in West
Kalimantan, Balikpapan in Central Kalimantan, Samarinda in East
Kalimantan, Makassar in South Sulawesi, and Manado in North
Sulawesi.

The third phase, set for 2003, would cover the southern coast
of Java, and other provincial capitals.

Also during the shareholders' meeting, Indosat said that it
would transfer licenses and obligations to its newly established
subsidiary, PT IM3, for the day-to-day operation of the cellular
service. -- JP