New telecommunications network forum established
New telecommunications network forum established
JAKARTA (JP): In conjunction with its push to develop more sophisticated technology in the telecommunications industry, Indonesia established a forum yesterday for users of the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and Intelligent Network (IN) facilities.
The organization, called Indonesia ISDN and IN User Forum (I3UF), was officially introduced here by Secretary General of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Jonathan L. Parapak.
"This is a real example of private participation in supporting the country's development," Parapak said.
I3UF groups telecommunications operators, vendors, terminal suppliers, software houses, consultants, regulators and other interested parties.
"ISDN and IN are the latest technologies in information- oriented telecommunications services. The public may need time to really comprehend the systems, so I hope I3UF will be able to help people understand them by offering training sessions," Parapak said.
"We are going to enter a paperless business world in the global trade and competition era. Therefore, we should prepare qualified human resources," he said.
I3UF, under preparation since late 1993, has two working groups that will discuss regulations, charging systems and technical aspects. The forum has a management committee for the 1995-98 period, which is chaired by Suryatin Setiawan, a senior general manager of the state-owned telecommunications firm PT Telkom.
ISDN is a network, in general, evolving from a telephony integrated digital network that provides end-to-end digital connectivity. This then supports a wide range of services, including voice and non-voice services, to which users have access by a limited set of standard multi-purpose user network interfaces.
The development of ISDN began in 1992 after Telkom set up a project of ISDN and IN in cooperation with related institutions. New of the project was first learned in September 1994.
"Telkom has prepared the networks for the facilities in five cities -- Jakarta, Bandung of West Java, Batam of Riau, Surabaya of East Java and Medan of North Sumatra. In the first step, the networks will be located just in commercial areas," Suryatin said.
The networks are scheduled to be introduced officially in August, when the country celebrates its 50th independence anniversary.(icn)