Telkom, Indosat awarded project

Telkom, Indosat awarded project

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned listed telecom firms PT Telkom and
PT Indosat have been assigned to install new telephone lines
until 2004, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

Director General of Post and Telecommunications Sasmito Dirdjo
was quoted by Antara as saying the development project, worth
about US$4 billion, would increase the country's landline
telephone density from the current 2.9 percent to 4 percent by
the year 2004.

He said the construction of millions of new telephone lines
was expected to also promote a more rapid growth of Internet use
in the country.

About 6.18 million fixed telephone lines were used across the
country as of March, according to Telkom's data. (cst)