Telkom plans linkup with S'pore SingTel

Telkom plans linkup with S'pore SingTel

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom)
said on Thursday that it would cooperate with Singapore Telecom
(Singtel) to build a submarine cable network in its bid to enter
the international direct dialing (IDD) market in 2003.

Telkom director of operations and marketing Komarudin
Sastrakoesoemah said that technically Telkom would not face many
difficulties in entering the IDD market as it had invested in
cable network infrastructures and satellite transmissions with
the Telkom I satellite, Antara reported.

Komarudin said SingTel was eager to extend its submarine cable
network across the world, including through Indonesia, and was
ready to invest.

In light of the new telecommunications law to come into effect
on Sept. 8, the government announced last week the earlier
termination of Telkom's monopoly over local and domestic long
distance call services to 2002 and 2003, from the initial
schedule of 2010 and 2005 respectively.

State-owned PT Indosat's duopoly over international telephone
services, shared with its subsidiary PT Satelindo, will also be
revoked one year earlier in 2003 from the initial 2004.

"This means Telkom could enter the international market a year
earlier," Komaruddin said.

Telkom's strong customer base in the local and domestic long
distance markets will enable it to compete with Indosat for a
share of the international telephone services market, he said.

The transition from being a domestic to an international
player will require Telkom to change its company regulations and
obtain consent from shareholders for the change in status,
Komaruddin said. (10)