Telkom plans switch to fiber-optic cables
Telkom plans switch to fiber-optic cables
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom
is considering replacing its satellite network with fiber-optic
cables by 2010 to meet a growing demand for data transmission.
Telkom vice president for planning and development Djafar
Sumantri said here on Tuesday that in the future the satellite
would no longer be adequate to ensure the rapid transmission of
data.
"Satellite is not ideal because there's a time delay which can
be as long as 800 milliseconds," he said, explaining that with
fiber-optic cables the time delay would be a maximum of 400
milliseconds.
Furthermore, Djafar said that during heavy rains, transmission
via satellite could experience lapses of up to 20 milliseconds.
"For voice transmissions (the lapses) don't really have an
impact, but when you're downloading data you'd have to start over
again," he said on the sidelines of a seminar on
telecommunications here.
Djafar said the demand for data transmission in the future
would greatly increase and the need for seamless transmission
would become more and more important.
To meet growing demand for seamless data transmission, Telkom
plans to link major islands in the Indonesian archipelago with
fiber-optic cables, Djafar said.
Major cities in Java are already linked with fiber-optic
cables, he said, adding that large cities in Sumatra would also
be linked with fiber optics by 2004.
"We have also linked Kalimantan to Surabaya using submarine
fiber-optic cables," Djafar said, adding that Telkom was also in
the process of negotiating with Singapore to link the Indonesian
fiber-optic network to the rest of Asia.
He said that although the initial investment for fiber optics
was much higher than for satellites, the maintenance and cost to
end users would be less expensive.
"Fiber optics has a much bigger bandwidth, therefore it will
be cheaper for transmission," Djafar said, explaining that with a
bigger bandwidth the cables were capable of transmitting more
data at faster transmission speeds.
However, the satellite network will not be altogether
abandoned, as it was still a reliable medium for television and
radio broadcasts and was still useful for voice transmissions
linking remote areas of the country.
"But for people in big cities like us, our needs are more
advanced and require a higher technology," Djafar said. (tnt)