Satelindo operates new gateway in Medan
JAKARTA (JP): Private telecommunications company PT Satelindo will operate a new gateway in Medan, North Sumatra, to support its international telecommunications services.
The additional gateway is scheduled to be officially launched by Director General of Post and Telecommunications Djakaria Purawidjaja in Medan today.
Company director of international calls and acting satellite director, Janto Warjanto, said that the gateway had a capacity of 120 circuits, extendible up to 600 circuits.
"The new gateway will support our network which previously relied only on a gateway in Jakarta," he told reporters during a reception to introduce the company's new management here Wednesday evening.
Janto said that Satelindo had also planned another gateway in Bali scheduled for operation in the first quarter of next year.
Satelindo, established in January 1993, is one of the private companies in the country licensed by the government to run satellite telecommunications services. The company also runs the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) cellular telephones and international telecommunications.
The company is owned by DeTeMobil of Germany, state-owned PT Telkom and PT Indosat, and PT Bimagraha Telekomindo .
Under a minister of tourism, post and telecommunications decree, the government has awarded the exclusive rights to international telecommunications services in the country to Indosat and Satelindo until 2005.
Indosat announced earlier this month that competition in the international telecommunications market was getting stiffer. Indosat, which last year had an average of 91.2 percent of the market share, predicted to see its market share decline to 86 percent this year and to 80 percent by 2000.
Janto said that Satelindo and Telkom were also scheduled to sign a satellite cooperation agreement with Telkom.
"Indonesia is well-known for its satellite industry and has been a leader in the business since 1976," he said.
"So we have to keep our expertise by, among others, setting up cooperation among the increasing number of satellite operators in Indonesia."
Instead of fighting each other, it would be much better for Indonesian satellite operators to cooperate, he added.
He said that through such cooperation, Indonesia would keep its shares in the market and successfully compete in, at least, the Asian region.
In addition to Satelindo and Telkom, satellite operators in the country include PT PSN, PT M2A, PT Datakom Asia and PT ACeS.
Janto said that Satelindo would also sign an agreement today on multimedia services with Telkom.
On Wednesday, Satelindo introduced its new management who included incoming president Saleh Gunawan replacing Iwa Sewaka; S. Willem Ouwens as cellular director; and Gerard Christiaan Meerman as finance director. Gunawan, 53, was also appointed director of business development.
Saleh said that Satelindo last year booked Rp 650 billion in revenues, up by 343 percent over 1995 and Rp 85 billion in profits, up by over 100 percent over 1995. (icn)