Multi to provide telecoms services

JAKARTA (JP): PT Multi Eka Karma, a company controlled by the Army, signed here yesterday an agreement with GN Comtext of Britain to serve value-added telecommunications services in Indonesia.

Multi's director, Teddy Mappakaya, said the value-added services would include store and forward telex and facsimile facilities.

"The service will provide facsimile and telex delivery cheaper than the normal system as we use our own network supplied by GN Comtext," he said.

He said that to provide the new service, Multi Eka Karma would set up a new firm called PT Global NusaCaraka Ekakarma to cooperate with GN Comtext.

"We expect the new service will be available within the next couple of months," he said.

Storing and forwarding telex and facsimile facilities will allow users to deliver messages directly form computers to dozens of numbers via access nodes.

A similar service is now also provided by the state-owned PT Telkom and PT Indosat and a private firm.

Multi Eka Karma is controlled by the Soedirman foundation of the Ministry of Defense and Security. The company has eight subsidiaries with business lines of telecommunications; media and publication; data and information; engineering and construction; diamonds and jewelry; asphalt; oil and gas, and infrastructure.

GN Comtext, a subsidiary of GN Great Nordic of Denmark, is one of the leading companies in value-added message services. The company operates in 45 nations. (icn)