Telkom develops mobile Internet

Telkom develops mobile Internet

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned PT Telkom, through its research and
development unit, is developing a software which will enable
users to surf the Internet without fixed telephone lines.

Senior general manager of Telkom's center of information
technology planning and development, Suryatin Setiawan, told The
Jakarta Post Thursday that the software was being developed in
cooperation with Nokia, Finland's telecommunications giant.

"We are preparing the so-called Internet wireless access to
allow people to use the Internet without fixed telephone lines,"
he said.

He said the project was being developed at Telkom's research
and development unit, popularly called Risti, in Bandung, West
Java.

President of PT Nokia Telecommunications, Nils Kampe, said the
project was originally part of a bigger project jointly developed
with Risti.

"We are providing technical assistance to Telkom as well as
conducting training," he said, adding that the project was
Nokia's first cooperation with Telkom.

Risti has also cooperated with other operators including
France Telecom, NTT of Japan and Lucent Technologies of the U.S.

Kampe said that when completed, the Internet wireless access
will allow people to obtain information through cellular phones.

"People will be able to know stock prices or flight schedules,
for instance, just from short message services from the cellular
phones. When ready, the Internet wireless access project will
need cooperation with various other parties," he said.

He said Nokia was involved in similar projects in Malaysia and
Finland. (icn)