Telkom and FT sign cooperation agreement

JAKARTA (JP): The state-owned domestic telecommunications company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) signed an agreement here over the weekend with France Telecom (FT) and an Indonesia- France joint venture to develop a computerized system for the administration of the telecommunications network (Siska) using the Girafe system.

Telkom spokesman Djoko Triwibowo said that the agreement was signed by Telkom president Setyanto P. Santosa, France Telekom executive Jean Pecresse and Rainaldi Leconte from Telecom Sofrecom of France and Eddi Hadianto from PT Gratika.

The Telecom Sofrecom and Gratika have set up a consortium to participate in the project.

According to Setyanto, the US$38 million project is financed by a loan from the World Bank.

Setyanto said that Siska, will initially be developed in Jakarta and Surabaya, East Java, as the two cities are expected to absorb some 43.2 percent of the five million telephone lines to be installed within the sixth Five-year Development Plan period (Repelita) which began last April.

Currently there are about 1.65 million telephone lines in Jakarta and 194,000 in Surabaya. By the end of 1998, telephone lines in Jakarta are estimated to reach 3.74 million and in Surabaya 700,000.

Siska data base provides five software applications for customer service orders, plant facility management, fault repairs, workforce management and billing.(icn)