Telkom checks out potential partners

SINGAPORE (JP): PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (PT Telkom) has received applications from private companies wanting to cooperate with it to run the Digital Cordless System (DCS-1800) and Personal Handy-phone Service (PHS).

The state-owned telecommunications company's president, Asman A. Nasution, said here yesterday that Telkom would soon begin sifting applications to find the right partners.

"We do not need to open a tender because we already know which companies are good and which ones aren't," Nasution told The Jakarta Post here at Asia Telecoms 1997.

The government said last week it had awarded five licenses for the systems, including one to Telkom and PT Cellnet Nusantara to run DCS-1800 nationwide and one to PT Indoprima Mikroselindo (Primasel) to run PHS in East Java.

Telkom, with state-owned PT Indosat and PT Inti, is also licensed to jointly operate DCS-1800 in Greater Jakarta and PHS in East Java. The consortium of three state-owned firms is allowed to invite private firms to cooperate with them.

Nasution refused to give further details about the plan, including whether foreign telecommunications operators, in particular SingTel of Singapore, could join.

Nasution has held a series of meetings with leading telecommunications firms' top executives during his Singapore visit. He said new subsidiaries were likely to be incorporated to run the new cellular services.

The Strait Times reported Wednesday that SingTel planned to complete a mega telecommunications deal in Indonesia later this year.

The director general of the ministry of tourism, post and telecommunications said earlier this month that SingTel's participation so far had only been to develop telecommunications networks in the eastern part of the country, under a joint operation scheme with Telkom.

In addition to the five new cellular licenses, the government opened last Monday the tender process for 11 new regional cellular licenses to operate DCS-1800 and PHS. It closes today.

There are six regional licenses to operate DCS-1800 in Sumatra, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Kalimantan and eastern Indonesia and five licenses to operate PHS in Sumatra, West Java, Central Java, Kalimantan and the eastern islands.

If selected, the companies, as is the case with Cellnet and Primasel, must cooperate with Telkom to provide services in the designated areas. (icn)