Lockheed to make Telkom satellite

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned domestic telecommunications firm PT Telkom has chosen U.S. company Lockheed Martin Corp. to build its 36-transponder satellite which will be launched by late 1998, an executive said yesterday.

"Negotiations between Telkom's satellite team and Lockheed executives are still in progress. I cannot elaborate further," Telkom executive Harso said.

According to Telkom, the contract is worth US$140 million.

The new satellite, Telkom 1, will replace the 24-transponder Palapa B-2R satellite.

Telkom 1 will have a 15-year lifespan and be lighter than Indonesia's current Palapa B satellites, which have an eight-year lifespan.

On Tuesday Telkom and Lockheed signed a letter of intent for the building of Telkom 1 with Lockheed pledging to finish the project within 18 months.

Telkom has appointed European consortium Arianespace to launch the satellite which will replace Palapa B-2R.

Telkom's president, Asman A. Nasution, said last week that besides Lockheed, three other foreign companies were competing for the contract.

They were the United States' Hughes Space and Communications, France's Aerospatial and Italy's Marconi Matra.

"I also cannot comment on the cancellation of our previous plan -- made last month -- to assign Hughes to build a new satellite with 24 transponders," Harso said.

Telkom operates a 24-transponder satellite, Palapa-B4, which will expire in April 2003.

Hughes made the Palapa B generation satellites and started working with Indonesia in 1975.

Telkom said Indonesia would need 6-transponder satellites by 2010 because of the rapid growth of its telecommunications industry. (10)