PT Inti supplies most of demand for telecommunications equipment

PT Inti supplies most of demand for telecommunications equipment

BANDUNG, West Java (JP): An increase in PT Inti's production
capacity has put it in position to provide almost all of the
equipment required for telecommunications expansion in the next
five years.

"We have expanded our production capacity by 75 percent to
700,000 telephone lines per year, meaning that we can provide
equipment for the establishment of no less than 3.5 million new
lines in the coming five years," state-owned Inti's president,
Arsyad Ismael, told reporters at the plant here yesterday.

The expansion has cost the company Rp 3 billion (US$1.39
million), he said.

Arsyad said the government expects to establish five million
new telephone lines within the just begun Sixth Five Year
Development Plan (Repelita VI) period.

During Repelita V, the state-owned domestic telecommunications
firm PT Telkom laid three million telephone lines, for which Inti
provided the material for 2.1 million.

Arsyad said Inti's products include small earth stations,
central exchanges, terminals and telephone sets.

He said that even though Inti uses technology from Siemens AG
of Germany, the company is ready to compete against other
producers on the world market.

"We are negotiating with potential buyers in 20 countries," he
said.

Yuniar Chaidir, Inti's finance director, said the company has
sold small digital telephone exchanges to Malaysia and Jordan.
(icn)