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)