Report on cellular tender delay denied

Report on cellular tender delay denied

JAKARTA (JP): The government denied yesterday it had
delayed the open tender of the Personal Communication Network
(PCN), the next generation of digital wireless telephone systems.

The Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications told The
Jakarta Post the government had never officially stated the
tender schedule.

"Therefore, there has been no delay of the tender for the
cellular project," the statement said.

A telecommunications analyst told the Post last week the
government originally planned to announce the tender in December,
after delays in July last year.

According to the statement, the government recently completed
feasibility studies of the PCN and Personal Communications System
(PCS) in Jakarta and Surabaya, East Java.

"The evaluation was completed at the end of December, and was
a technical and operational success. The government will soon
announce the implementation of PCS/PCN to the public via a tender
process," the statement said.

The government planned to adopt one or more cellular mobile
telecommunications systems, in addition to the three existing
systems run by seven operators. The three current systems are the
global system for mobile communications, the advanced mobile
phone service and the Nordic mobile telephone.

The next generation of digital wireless telephone PCN systems
include the PCS-1900 and digital cordless system (DCS-1800) from
Europe, the digitally enhanced cordless telephone, the personal
handy-phone service developed in Japan, and code division
multiple access technology from the United States. (icn)