President to inaugurate Palapa Ring project

Antara News, Monday, November 30, 2009 08:30 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to inaugurate the Palapa Ring fiber-optic network project, which will be started with the construction of the 1,041 km Mataram-Kupang fiber optic line on Monday (30/11).

The President will make contacts with Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring, and West Nusa Tenggara Governor Mohammed Zainul Madjdi in Kupang by way of video conferencing facility from the State Palace, Ministry of Communications and Information spokesman Gatot S. Dewa Broto said in Jakarta, Sunday.

According to Gatot, the construction of the Palapa Ring network in the southern part of Eastern Indonesia is fully funded by state telecommunications company PT Telkom with a segment with a land surface optic fiber cable, scheduled for completion in November 2010.

Vice Director of Public and Marketing Communications of Telkom, Eddy Kurnia, said that in the first phase, Telkom builds the Mataram Kupang undersea optic fiber line, with six "landing points" in the city of Mataram, Sumbawa Besar, Raba, Waingapu and Kupang.

Further Telkom will build a 810 km land cable with 15 nodes in the Mataram, Pringgabaya, Newmont, Taliwang, Sumbawa Besar, Ampang, Dompu, Raba, Labuhan Bajo, Shikara, Bajawa, Ende, Maumere, Waingapu, and Kupang.

"This project is a Telkom commitment to install optic fiber projects in Eastern Indonesia," he said.

Palapa Ring Project is a Government initiated fiber optic backbone development, consisting of 35,280 kilometers of undersea optic fiber line, and 21,708 kilometers of optical fiber underground line.

This project forms seven rings covering 33 provinces and 460 regencies across Indonesia.

The Palapa Ring Consortium members were in the beginning composed of seven companies, but due to the global crisis only three members are now left, namely Telkom, Indosat and Bakrie Telecom.

The Consortium will later build optic fiber lines at the beginning of 2011 from Manado, Ternate, Sorong, Ambon, Kendari to Makassar.

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