PT Telselindo to operate CDMA technology in 2002

JAKARTA (JP): Local cellular phone operator PT Telselindo Nusantara and its British partner Inquam Limited announced on Friday plans to develop a US$300 million cellular phone network in the country, based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology.

Telselindo's chief commissioner Purnardi Djojosudirjo said both companies had signed an agreement last month to develop the CDMA cellular phone network.

In the beginning, he said, the joint venture will build a network in Java, Bali and Lampung.

The network will be later expanded to Sulawesi, the rest of Sumatra and other areas in the eastern part of Indonesia.

"If the development plan runs as scheduled, we shall be on air early next year," Purnardi told a news conference.

He acknowledged that the joint venture's development plan had yet to receive the go-ahead from the government.

Inquam is jointly owned by Saudi Arabia-based investment group Omnnia and United States telecommunications firm Qualcomm Inc.

According to a statement issued by Telselindo and Inquam, Qualcomm is a patent holder of CDMA 450 technology. The other patent holder is Lucent Technologies, also of the U.S.

Purnardi said Telselindo and Inquam would use Qualcomm's CDMA 450 technology in the country.

CDMA is one of two digital cellular technologies most widely used today, the other being the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). GSM is, however, more popular among Indonesian operators, including PT Telkomsel, PT Satelindo and PT Excelcomindo Pratama.

Other technologies based on the analog system include NMT and the Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS). AMPS is used by Telesera, Metrosel and Komselindo.

Last month, another cellular operator, PT Mobile Selular Indonesia (Mobisel), announced that it would invest $200 million to replace its current analog Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) technology with CDMA.

Purnardi voiced optimism that the joint venture of Telselindo and Inquam would able to compete with Mobisel, citing the reliability of the CDMA technology owned by Qualcomm.

"Competition is common in business. But we are optimistic that we can obtain a greater share from the prospective business," he said.

Telselindo's operational director Muslim Mahmud said the joint venture expected to secure around 50,000 subscribers in its "soft launching" period.

"We target to net around two million subscribers in total," he added.

Muslim said the company targeted people living in rural areas rather than those in urban areas.

"CDMA technology, with its low frequency of 450 megahertz, can cover a wider area than the higher frequencies applied by other operators such as GSM," he explained.

Inquam's chairman and chief executive officer Chris J. Bataillard said the CDMA technology still lacked appreciation in the country, but, he said, the prospect for the technology was very bright given the fact that most of the population lived in rural areas.

He said he was optimistic the company would reach breakeven after two years of operation. (03)