More companies applying for PCN licenses
JAKARTA (JP): At least 120 companies have applied for the government's licenses to provide Personal Communication Network (PCN) services in the country, sources said.
A source at the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications said yesterday that the number of applicants had been increasing steadily, though the government had not yet officially announced when the tender for such a business will be opened.
The source, who requested anonymity, said that the applicants will first undergo prequalifications before participating in the open tender, which will be the first ever held in the country's cellular telecommunications history.
Telecommunications analysts believe that the government will launch the tender later this year to pick up several PCN operators.
PCN is the next generation of the digital wireless telephone system that uses light, inexpensive handsets with long battery life to communicate via low-power antenna.
The new generation of digital mobile cellular telecommunications includes the Personal Communications System and the Digital Cordless System (DCS-1800) from Europe, the Personal Handy-phone Service (PHS) developed by Japan, and the Code Division Multiple Access technology from the United States.
The country currently uses three different cellular mobile telecommunications systems provided by seven different operators serving some 300,000 users.
The digital Global System for Mobile Telecommunications (GSM), the most recent system introduced in the country, is operated by PT Telkomsel, PT Satelindo and PT Excelcomindo.
The Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS), the analog system introduced earlier, is operated by PT Metrosel Nusantara, PT Telekomindo and PT Komselindo. The third system applied in Indonesia is the Nordic Mobile Telephone, the analog service primarily installed in vehicles run by PT Mobisel.
Indonesia has also the Cordless Telephone system, run by PT Telepoint, which is improvable into Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephone.
"The government is likely to choose several PCN operators to operate in the country, as the investments for such a service will be very expensive," the source said.
According to the source, PHS and DCS-1800 are the systems most likely to be adopted by the government in the personal network system.
He said that the government is currently preparing PHS pilot project in Surabaya, East Java and a DCS-1800 system project in Jakarta involving the state-owned telecommunications manufacturer PT Inti and the state-owned international telecommunications carrier PT Indosat in cooperation with several foreign firms.
Meanwhile, secretary-general of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications, Jonathan L. Parapak, said recently that any new PCN providers will be required to work with the state- owned telecommunications operators just like the seven existing cellular providers.
He said that based on the country's telecommunications law, PCN is categorized as a basic service, so that such a service must be run by state-owned companies.
Private operators are only allowed to operate in such services under a joint operation with state-owned telecommunication companies such as PT Telkom and PT Indosat. (icn)