Local cable struggles at home

Local cable struggles at home

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has failed to develop a fiber optic
cable manufacturing industry because contractors of
telecommunications projects prefer to bring in such cables from
their own countries, an executive suggests.

"Indonesia is currently developing a number of fiber optics
telecommunications networks. Unfortunately, most of the projects
are being constructed by foreign firms which usually bring in
their own materials," the marketing director of PT Jembo Cable
Company, Soebiantoro, said yesterday.

Jembo Cable is currently the only Indonesian company capable
of producing fiber optic cables with an ISO-9000 standardization.

Soebiantoro said that his company, established in 1973,
manufactures various products, including low voltage copper
conductor electrical cables, low voltage aluminum conductor
electrical cables, medium voltage electrical cables and
telecommunications cables.

"Since October 1993 Jembo has been able to produce fiber optic
cables," he said.

According to Soebiantoro, his company, which has the capacity
to produce 5,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables per year, has
not produced any such cables since 1993.

"When we decided to enter the fiber optics business, we knew
that the government would establish various fiber optic
telecommunications networks. But then the foreign firms,
including NKF of the Netherlands, Sumitomo of Japan and Alcatel
of France, chose to use their own equipment when they established
telecommunications projects in Indonesia," he said.

He said that fiber optic cable can be used in a wide range of
networks, including the signaling systems for railway traffic and
television broadcasting networks.

"But I don't think that, for the time being, any project other
than telecommunications networks uses fiber optic cables in
Indonesia," he said.

The state-owned domestic telecommunications company PT Telkom,
is currently constructing several fiber optic networks, including
the one linking Sumatra, Java and Bali, in order to improve its
services.

Telkom's general manager for telecommunications network
development planning, Achadiat Djajawinata, said recently that
Indonesia will use fiber optic cables for all of its
communication networks in the coming years.

Soebiantoro said that Telkom has promised to involve domestic
fiber optic cables manufacturers in its network development.

He said that in addition to Jembo, which is listed on the
Jakarta Stock Exchange, another company, owned by Gajah Tunggal
group of Indonesia and Pirelli of Italy, will produce fiber optic
cables within the next few years.(icn)