PT Telkomsel enters East Timor and Maluku

PT Telkomsel enters East Timor and Maluku

DILI, East Timor (JP): Cellular operator PT Telkomsel launched
here yesterday its global system for mobile communications (GSM)
service in East Timor and Maluku, marking the completion of its
program to cover the country's 27 provinces.

Telkomsel's new service was inaugurated by East Timor Governor
Abilio Jose Osorio Soares.

Company director of operations Garuda Sugardo said Telkomsel's
GSM service had been available here and in Ambon, the capital of
the neighboring province of Maluku, since Dec. 24.

Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudrajat is scheduled to
launch the GSM service in Ambon on Sunday.

"Telkomsel now operates in 186 big and small cities all over
Indonesia with about 182,000 subscribers," he said, adding that
the company expected to have 185,000 subscribers by the New Year.

He said Telkomsel had originally expected to get 120,000
subscribers by the end of 1996.

"Telkomsel invested Rp 700 million (US$296,000) and Rp 1.25
billion ($530,000) to expand into East Timor and Maluku,
respectively," he said.

Telkomsel installed a radio base station (RBS) in East Timor,
which would only cover Dili, and two RBS in Maluku to cover Ambon
and Ternate, he said. "Vendors and government officials are our
target markets in Dili."

"Nationwide expansion is our commitment. We hope that cellular
operations everywhere in Indonesia will facilitate business and
commercial activities," Garuda said.

In his speech, Governor Soares invited businesspeople to
invest in East Timor.

"I am convinced that this cellular service will encourage the
private sector to invest in East Timor," he said while reminding
his audience that information technology also had negative
consequences.

Telkomsel's general manager for East Timor, Gatot Supondo,
said about 50 locals were waiting to subscribe to GSM.

The manager of state-owned PT Telkom, Maria Fernanda Lay, said
there were about 4,800 fixed-telephone lines in East Timor, which
had a population of about 800,000.

Garuda told The Jakarta Post yesterday that Telkomsel planned
to improve its service rather than increase its number of
subscribers in 1997.

"We will double the number of master switching centers (MSC)
in the Greater Jakarta Area next year. There will be two MSCs
next January. This will be increased to six by mid-1997," he
said, adding that Telkomsel was planning invest Rp 200 billion
($84.7 million) in 1997.

Greater Jakarta is the key market for the country's cellular
operators, particularly GSM operators. Besides Telkomsel, PT
Excelcomindo Pratama and PT Satelindo operate GSM systems.

These three firms are battling to provide the most innovative,
qualified and diversified services for GSM subscribers, amid
tight competition from other domestic telecommunications
operators, because tariffs are fixed by the government.

The government announced last month a new installation target
of eight million telephone lines for the ongoing Sixth Five-Year
Development Plan period to end in March 1999. The new target
includes 6.7 million fixed-telephone lines and a network capacity
for 1.3 million mobile telephones.

Telkomsel, incorporated in May 1995, is 42.72 percent owned by
Telkom, 35 percent by PT Indosat, 17.28 percent by PTT Telecom of
the Netherlands and 5 percent by Setdco Group.

Garuda said Telkomsel would break even by the end of 1997 and
make a profit in 1998. (icn)