Inmarsat to set up worldwide mobile satellite service

Inmarsat to set up worldwide mobile satellite service

JAKARTA (JP): The International Maritime Satellite
Organization (Inmarsat) is inviting its signatories all over the
world, including PT Indosat, the state-owned international
telecommunications firm, to participate in a US$2.6 billion
mobile communications satellite project.

Inmarsat, a leading global mobile satellite communications
operator, owned by 76 telecommunications firms from various
countries, is based in London. Indosat, who became a member in
1986, has a 0.26 percent stake in Inmarsat.

Inmarsat's manager for strategic planning, Patrick McDougal,
told reporters here yesterday that he is quite convinced that
Indosat, who plans to float its shares internationally next
Tuesday, will take part in the project.

He said the project, called Project 21, was first announced in
1991, as a major initiative to develop advanced satellite base
personal mobile communications system to meet market demand for
the remainder of the decade and into the next century. The
principal development of the program is called Inmarsat-P.

"The major objective of the project is to provide users
throughout the world with a wide variety of voice, data telecopy
and paging services, integrated with terrestrial cellular and
personal communications network (PCN) systems by means of
handheld, pocket-sized satellite terminals," he said.

McDougal said the Inmarsat-P system has been in development
for over four years, during which time the operator has worked
closely with a number of external consultants and industry
participants.

"We are collaborating with aerospace industrial contractors
including Hughes Aircraft, Lockheed Martin and Matra Marconi.
Mobile phone manufacturers including Ericsson, Nokia, NEC, ABB
and HNS as well as several market research firms," he said.

By the year 2000, 2.5 billion people will still be beyond
reach of cellular phones and 85 percent of land mass will still
be unserved, he said. "In Indonesia, 20 percent of the people
will be living outside of areas of cellular coverage in the year
2001."

Cheap

Inmarsat-P, estimated to be cheaper than other mobile
telecommunications products, can be used by people traveling
anywhere in the world, he said

McDougal also said that the British-based Inmarsat Council
decided, last month, to establish a separate affiliated limited
company, as yet unnamed, to implement Inmarsat-P, whose first
phase will cost $1 billion.

"We will be looking for a loan of $1.2 billion from banks for
the whole project," he said.

Inmarsat-P, using 12 satellites in an intermediate circular
orbit system for its space segment, will likely offer handheld
phones at around $1,000 each with communications charges
averaging $2 per minute.

Indosat

Indosat's top executives are now in Europe for public
presentation on the company's share issuance.

An executive at the company said, yesterday, Indosat will be
very careful in choosing a project.

Indosat will develop digital cellular telecommunications using
the latest telecommunications technology, Global System for
Mobile Communications (GSM) in cooperation with PT Telkom in the
near future.

Indonesia is also likely to develop a mobile geo-stationary
satellite telecommunication system, under a feasibility study at
Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) of Indonesia, Singapore
Technologies Ventures, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. and
Hughes Communications Inc. of the United States. When started,
the US$900 million project will have four satellites which will
be able to serve about one million subscribers in Asian
nations.(icn)