INDOSATnet targets 70,000 clients in 2000

JAKARTA (JP): INDOSATnet, an Internet service provider (ISP) of state-owned telecommunications company PT Indosat, estimated on Tuesday robust growth in new client numbers in 2000 in line with the increase in Internet users in the country.

Business manager of Indosat's Internet division Zuraida Boerhanuddin said on Tuesday that the estimated sharp increase in Internet users was expected to nearly double its client rolls to 70,000 from about 40,000 at present.

"We're confident of our target of 70,000 clients, because the yearly growth rate of Internet users in Indonesia and the world reaches 100 percent," Zuraida said in a statement.

In addition to individual clients, INDOSATnet also serves corporate clients through lease-lines, which offers more speed.

It also intends to expand services to 21 cities from its present 12 major cities including Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Yogyakarta, Denpasar, Surabaya and Batam.

The company, which was launched in April 1996, is the largest ISP in Indonesia.

When the economic crisis deepened in early 1998, the firm gained many new customers because Internet providers were unable to serve clients due to increasing operation costs based in U.S. dollars.

INDOSATnet has developed a website under www.i-2.co.id. called Indonesia-Interactive (i-2).

The website has so far recorded 9 million visitors per month and INDOSATnet marketing manager Ilham L. Poetranto said he targeted the figure to also double in 2000.

I-2 has become Indonesia's Internet portal, similar to Yahoo, AltaVista and Excite, which offers a one-stop site for Internet surfers to find information, play games or do online shopping.

Features at I-2 include news, stock information from the Jakarta Stock Exchange and live radio broadcasts.

Ilham predicted Indonesia would record growing demand for Internet services.

He said online stores would mushroom and small size Internet companies would increase, relying more on service quality of website contents rather than Internet access.

INDOSATnet also offers various Internet-related services such as web hosting, web advertising and I-Solution, which optimizes the use of information technology in companies. (03)