Re-tender for 3G in November: Minister
Re-tender for 3G in November: Minister
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A re-tender for the 1,900 Mega Hertz (MHz) frequency -- allocated
by the government for the use of third generation (3G) cellular
technology -- will take place in November, a minister says.
Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil said
the re-bidding for each 5MHz-spectrum in the frequency would be
possible since all operators had moved their operations from the
frequency.
"The tender for the frequency is just a matter of time. The
1,900 MHz have been cleared. Indosat has removed its services
from the frequency while Telkom will clear out its operations
soon," he said on Monday after overseeing the operation of a
fiber-optic communication system launched by PT Telkom, the
country's largest telecommunications company.
The bid process is part of the government's efforts to modify
the telecommunications frequency allocations to make them more
efficient.
However, the minister refused to disclose the offering price
for interested operators to bid on the license to operate in the
3G frequency allocation. "We have done several studies about the
prices, but I can't reveal the figures," he said.
Sofyan had said in June that a 5-Mhz frequency allocation
would cost approximately US$80 million in Australia and between
$10 million and $20 million in the United States.
On Monday, he said the bid would still open for PT Natrindo
Telepon Seluler/Lippo Telecom and PT Cyber Access Communications
(CAC) -- an affiliate of Thailand's leading cellular operator
Telecom Orange Asia -- which have obtained licenses to operate
3G-based cellular services in 2003.
"If they join the bidding, they have to pay at the price
agreed on during November bidding," he said.
The ministry is estimated to reap up to Rp 5 trillion
(US$520.83 million) in revenues by maximizing the allocation of
the potential 60 MHz frequencies.
Sofyan reiterated that the money gained from the tender would
be used to install standard telephone lines in villages currently
without access to any sort of telecommunications across the
country.
Telkom's research showed that at present, fixed-line
subscribers reached only nine million, or 4.8 percent of the
country's population.
The minister also said that his ministry would soon issue
permits to operate 3G for operators that were ready to offer such
services to their customers.
"Telkom, Exelcomindo and Indosat have carried out technical
tryouts for their 3G technology, meaning they are ready to
operate it. I will soon issue a permit for them," he said.
With 3G technology, cellular subscribers will be able to enjoy
"triple-play" services such as video streaming, video
conferencing through cellular phones, in addition to a much
faster data transfer.(006)