PSN to launch new product

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Satellite telecommunications service provider PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) will commercially launch the first batch of its satellite-based fixed telephones for Indonesia's rural areas in August, a senior executive said.

PSN's director of operations Rian Alisjahbana said on Tuesday that the company would initially put on the market 2,000 satellite-based phones a month and hoped that the number would gradually increase to 10,000 phones per month.

The satellite-based phones are part of PSN's ambitious plan to provide basic telephone access to more than 50,000 villages across the country.

The self-installation satellite phones, also called Pasti, would answer the needs for telecommunications services in remote areas where basic telephone services were unavailable.

"Its plug-and-play system will enable customers to use the phone anywhere in Indonesia, including in remote areas or on the ocean," Rian said.

The phone uses PT Asia Cellular Satellite's (ACeS) satellite, Garuda-1, which is also co-owned by PSN, American firm Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications, the Philippines Long Distance Telephone Company and Jasmine International of Thailand. (23/tnt)