PSN to operate multimedia satellite by 1999

PSN to operate multimedia satellite by 1999

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly-listed PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara
(PSN) plans to operate a multimedia satellite by 1999.

The company's president, Adi Rahman Adiwoso, said yesterday
that PSN selected Loral Corporation of the United States to
manufacture the satellite. The satellite will be Indonesia's
first home-phone spacecraft.

He said that PSN in January invited three spacecraft
manufacturers -- Loral, Lockheed Martin and Hughes Space and
Communications -- to bid for the project.

"Construction of the four-ton satellite began early this
month. We expect to see the launching by the end of 1988 or in
early 1999," he said, adding that PSN has yet to select a company
to launch the satellite.

He said that even though the Palapa Pacific-3, as it will be
called, will not have any transponders, its capacity will be
equivalent to that of a satellite with 84 transponders.

"The multimedia satellite, worth approximately US$300 million,
will provide various services, including telephone lines, data
and figure communications, television and other
telecommunications services," Adiwoso said.

"People intending to use its service will have to install an
antenna with a height of about five meters. We will charge the
same installation fees charged by state-owned PT Telkom for a new
fixed telephone line."

He said that the utilization fee will range between 5 U.S.
cents and 10 cents per minute.

He said that the satellite's facility will cover Australia,
China, India, Indonesia, Indochina, Japan/South Korea and the
Philippines.

"The telecommunications industry in Indonesia has grown
significantly. I expect that there will be an estimated 50
million telephone lines in the country by 2005," he said.

Indonesia currently has some four million telephone lines. The
government plans to install 7.7 million more lines by 1999,
consisting of 6.7 million fixed-telephone lines and one million
mobile telephones.

Adiwoso said that the planned Palapa Pacific-3 satellite,
which will orbit at 134 degrees east longitude, will accelerate
the development of the telecommunications industry in Indonesia.

Nasdaq

PSN is listed on the Nasdaq capital market in the United
States. Its shareholders include Telkom (with a share ownership
of 22.57 percent), PT Elektrindo Nusantara, a subsidiary of the
Bimantara Group (21.12 percent), PT Primaupaya Lintasswara (10.4
percent), PT Skaisnetindo Teknotama (14.31 percent), PT Mutuprima
Abadi (1.62 percent), Hughes (7.23 percent) and Telesat Canada
(7.23 percent). As a custodian, the state-owned Bank Dagang
Negara owns a 15.52 percent stake in PSN.

The company provides satellite-based communication services
within the Asia-Pacific region using 12 transponders in the
Palapa-C1 and the Palapa-C2 satellites and 24 in the Palapa
Pacific-2.

The Palapa Pacific-1 and Palapa Pacific-2 were previously
owned by Telkom.

Joining with the Philippines Long Distance Telephone Co. of
the Philippines and Jasmine International Public Co. Ltd. of
Thailand, PSN has set up PT Asia Cellular Satellite System
(ACeS), a Jakarta-based telecommunications firm which will offer
mobile-satellite-based cellular telecommunications. The system
will use a Garuda satellite and be the first of its kind in Asia
when in service in 1999. (icn)