Telecom operators ready for mobile Internet
JAKARTA (JP): Major telecommunications providers said here on Monday that they were ready to expand into wireless internet services this year using the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) technology.
PT Telkom's director of research and development on information technology, Suryatin Setiawan, said Telkom was currently finalizing the traffic system of its new mobile internet service.
"We hope to complete the process in the next couple of months so that we can launch the system in October. We are going to enter the wireless business in order to maintain good growth," he told journalists on the sidelines of a WAP seminar held by Ericsson.
WAP is a new global, open standard for handheld devices that will allow users to access on-line services without having to plug into a laptop computer.
WAP was initially introduced and developed in late 1990s by mobile telecoms system companies, including Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola, with the intention to open mass-market wireless Internet service.
Suryatin said many companies are expected to get involved in WAP development in order to participate in the predicted boom in the mobile Internet market in Indonesia.
He said the number of mobile internet users here was expected to reach around 2.6 million, or about 20 percent of the total mobile phone users projected in 2004.
To be able to launch a full mobile internet service, Telkom, whose core business is fixed line network, should consider acquiring one of the existing mobile phone network operators in order to obtain the gateway infrastructure, he said.
"Telkom can build and operate its own wireless network without having to cooperate with GSM operators, but we will need to obtain a new license for that," he said.
He said the board of directors would immediately decide whether or not Telkom should acquire an existing GSM operator, in which Telkom already owns an interest.
The three existing GSM operators Telkomsel, Satelindo and Excelcomindo have been preparing themselves with studies on developing WAP technology in order to embark on mobile Internet service.
Excelcomindo's general manager for pre-paid service, A. Putranto, said the company would launch a pilot project on WAP systems in the middle of the year before proceeding with the commercial operation of its wireless Internet service later this year.
"Ideally mobile internet service should be provided by both post paid and pre-paid customers. However, due to technical systems, including billing, it will be much easier for us to offer the service to the post paid customers," he said.
Telkomsel's general manager for marketing, Erik Meijer, said the company planned to launch its mobile Internet service using the WAP system this year.
"Our service will allow subscribers to access various information, including traffic updates, e-commerce and information on weather, financial news or travel information from available internet sites through their mobile phones," he said.
Meijer said the company sees a great opportunity in WAP service, including higher airtime revenues, new market and partners.
He said network operators need to cooperate with content providers and vendors of infrastructures in order to be able to establish a complete service at a more reasonable cost.
Among content providers with immediate plan to offer WAP service is internet portal Detikcom, which is currently developing a service to enable access of its news content by mobile phone users, according to president of Detikcom's owner Agrakom, Abdul Rahman.
"We intend to become one of the first WAP content providers in Indonesia. The prototype of the Wap service we are currently developing is expected to be available by April," he said. (cst)