Mobile telephone business still open

Mobile telephone business still open

JAKARTA (JP): Opportunities in the country's lucrative telecommunications industry are still wide open as the government will soon set up technical guidelines on cheaper mobile telephone businesses.

Director General of Post and Telecommunications Djakaria Purawidjaja told reporters during a gathering for fast-breaking on Thursday that the government is currently preparing guidelines on the business of CT2, the second generation of the mobile telephone system.

A company executive said the government promised to announce the technical guidelines in April.

Djakaria said that the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications last year introduced a regulation on the business.

"Actually the trial operation of CT2 was launched in Jakarta last October, when Indonesia hosted the World Infrastructure Forum," Djakaria said.

A Jakarta-based private firm, PT Telepoint Nusantara, introduced CT2 in the Jakarta Convention Center complex last November during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

He refused to say how many operators will be licensed to run the mobile telephone businesses in the country once the new guidelines are introduced.

"In a business and trade area like Jl. Gajah Mada in Central Jakarta, for instance, one operator is needed," he said.

Telepoint's sales manager, Tito Tobing, said that his company is interested in the business and will use Silverlink which comes with a Motorola handset.

"There are two frequency spans utilized for CT2 including 861- 865 megahertz (Mhz) and 864-868 Mhz," he said, adding that his company will order handsets from Motorola in Singapore, not from Motorola's representative in Indonesia. (icn)