Indosat to try out its 3G technology

Indosat to try out its 3G technology

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's second largest telecommunications company PT Indosat
aims to try its third generation (3G) technology next month to
support its bid for a license and increase its customers.

"We will start with a pilot project in August. The pilot
project is designed to monitor the market response, the technical
implications, how to deal with customer service and how to offer
the technology," the company's newly elected president director
Hasnul Suhaimi told reporters in a gathering on Monday.

With 3G technology cellular phone operators such as Indosat
can provide multimedia facilities at faster speeds and with much
more data than the cellular technology now being used here, which
is classified as 2.5G.

Hasnul said the tryout of the 3G technology would support the
company's vision to become a leading cellular operator.

For that purpose, the company allocated US$900 million, or 80
percent of its Rp 1 trillion bonds released to the market
recently, to expand its cellular business.

He also added that one of the aims of the expansion is to get
the 3G license, which is only granted by the government.

"Hopefully with this pilot project, we will get the license
next year and launch the product later on," Hasnul told The
Jakarta Post.

Only two companies, PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler, or Lippo
Telecom, and PT Cyber Access Communications (CAC), an affiliate
of Thailand's leading cellular operator Telecom Orange Asia, were
granted the license by the government in 2003.

The government plans to offer additional frequencies to
companies that will operate cellular services based on 3G
technology if they can develop their businesses.

Wityasmoro Sih Handayanto, the director of planning and
project development, said that Indosat would try its 3G
technology in Jakarta and Surabaya, the two biggest cities in the
country.

"Applying 3G technology is a strategic business development
because it carries high-band-width and high capacity. Operators
with many subscribers like us should apply the technology," he
said.

As of June, Hasnul said that Indosat recorded 13 million
subscribers and targeting another one million by the end of the
year.

He also said that the company would expand its coverage by
building more BTS (Base Transceiver Stations) that would cover
over 400 regencies in the country, from its coverage capacity of
383 regencies. (006)