Government to form team for intensifying talks on Papala Ring

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government is to set up a team to intensify a discussion about a concept on Palapa Ring`s broad band fibre optic project worth US$1.517 billion, which would go to a tender in October, 2007.

"The team will be formed late January, 2007, with the early task in February, 2007, to study the Palapa Ring`s business model," spokesman for the Post and Telecommunications Directorate General, Gatot S. Dewa Broto, said here Friday.

Gatot said the team was expected to intensify a discussion about the substance of the concept on the Palapa Ring project, namely, a business model, formation of a consortium, incentives and the government`s authority in the concept.

After the formation of the team, the government would hold inter sectoral meetings in March, 2007, formation of a consortium in May, 2007 and draw up a fibre optic network design in detail in June, 2007, he said.

The Palapa Ring project was designed based on a feasibility study to decide an optimum design in anticipation of the telecommunication traffic development in the future, he said.

The total length of the submarine fibre optic cable is 35,280 kilometers and the inland one is 20,737 kilometers.

About 15,000 kilometers of the existing fibre optic cables have been established by some operators (telecommunication company PT Telkom, PT Excelcomindo, PT Indosat and PT Comnet Plus) and they were expected to be integrated with the Palapa Ring project.

"The need of long fibre optic cables demands a comprehensive concept on national broad band network to lower the cost per Mbps. It is expected to become a national network integrated to the existing one," he said.

The companies interested to take part in the tender of the mega project are PT Telecomunikasi Indonesia, Bakrie Telecom, and PT Wireless Indonesia (WIN), Aqela and PT Potensi Bumi Sakti.