U.S. broadcasting firm plans to expand into Indonesia
JAKARTA (JP): Besides the overseas satellite-based telephone system and other telecommunications services, WorldSpace, a U.S. satellite-based radio broadcasting firm based also plans to expand into Indonesia.
WorldSpace's vice president for Asian affairs, Mike Yuh-Hung, said yesterday his company would launch three satellites to offer direct digital delivery radio service.
Yuh-Hung said WorldSpace would operate three satellites with the L-band working at the 1.5 gigahertz frequency.
"The first satellite, called Afristar, will be launched in mid-1998, the second, Asiastar, in late 1998 and the last one, Caribstar, in mid-1999."
He said the Asiastar satellite would be placed at the 105 degree east longitude and be in orbit over Riau.
He said WorldSpace would offer special portable radios with chips allowing people to listen the same broadcasting station within a 14-million-square-kilometer area.
"Radio broadcasting stations have to lease channels at one of the three satellites to have such a global service," he said.
The Washington-based WorldSpace was set up in 1990 to answer critical information needs by delivering a broad spectrum of high-fidelity radio channels, ranging from amplitude modulation (AM)-equivalent to compact disc (CD)-quality sound.
Yuh-Hung said France's Alcatel made the satellites, while European consortium Arianespace would launch them.
He said WorldSpace was negotiating with several Indonesian firms to form a joint venture firm.
"We need the presence of a joint venture company to serve and run the business in Indonesia."
Several overseas satellite-based telephone and other telecommunications services are interested in entering Indonesia. They include Iridium, Globalstar and Inmarsat.
Hughes Communications Inc also plans to enter Indonesia with its new business, Spaceway, a Ka-band spectrum satellite system offering "bandwidth-on-demand" -- to transmit and receive voice, data, video, audio and multimedia at any time from any place. (icn)