Wireless Federation

Indonesia’s mobile market has growing rapidly with the number of subscribers heading for 120 million in 2008, up from 90 million in early 2008, having grown by nearly 40% in 2007. There is vast opportunity for market expansion in Indonesia when compared with some of its Asian neighbours.  For strong growth to continue, the sector must take advantage of the government’s regulatory changes and find ways of attracting more foreign capital into the market place. Value-added services have become important and 3G has arrived.

OPERATOR                                 SUBSCRIBERS (IN MILLION)
Telkomsel                                                   50.55
Indosat                                                      26.42
Excelcomindo                                              22.42
PT Mobile8                                                    3.77
3                                                                 3.21
Sampoerna Telekomunikasi Indonesia             0.41

Smart Telecom                                               0.5
Bakrie Telecom                                              4.46
Telkom                                                         6.69

Notable highlights of the Indonesia Mobile Forecast include:

• Indonesia continues to be the most profitable market in East Asia. It is forecasted that average EBITDA margins in Indonesia at 63.7% in 2010. Telkomsel, in particular, will continue to be one of the most profitable wireless operators in the world with an EBITDA margin of 68.2%.

• The wireless penetration level in Indonesia is steadily increasing. It will increase from the projected 50.9% in 2008 to 62.4% in 2010. The number of total subscribers will increase from 115.8 million to 146.2 million from 2008 - 2010.

• Although the total subscriber base will continue to grow, Telkomsel, the largest operator in the country, will be losing its market share to competitors. According to the forecast that the market share (by subscribers) of Telkomsel will decrease from the projected 50.4% in 2008 to 47.9% in 2010.

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

Indonesia’s Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) has announced it is widening its probe into alleged price-fixing of SMS messages by eight of the country’s mobile operators, The Jakarta Post reports. In a statement the body said it had found evidence, albeit preliminary, of a ‘cartel-like’ arrangement between the companies involved. ‘From the preliminary evidence, we have discovered that there’s a kind of agreement between the mobile cellular companies to fix the prices of text messages at between IDR250 (about USD0.027) and IDR350,’ KPPU chairman Muhammad Iqbal said Monday. He went on to say it would take about 60 working days for the KPPU to finally make its adjudication on the case. The eight companies allegedly involved are Bakrie Telecom, Indosat, Telkomsel, Telkom, Excelcomindo, Hutchinson CP Telecommunications (HCPT), Mobile-8 Telecom and Smart Telecom.

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

Indonesian mobile start-up Smart Telecom plans to launch commercial operations in September, reports Thomson Financial citing local news portal Bisnis Indonesia, with the ambitious aim of signing up 1.4 million users by the end of the year. The country was home to more than 71 million mobile users at the end of March this year, says  but with mobile penetration of less than 30% at the same date, Smart Telecom sees great potential to be had from the burgeoning wireless market. Smart Telecom director Ulbaidillah Fatah is quoted as saying the company will provide a CDMA-based cellular service in six cities on Indonesia’s most populous island, Java. The start-up, which is jointly owned by PT Inti, PT Global Nusa, PT Mobilindo Telkom and PT Wireless Indonesia of Sinarmas Group, has allocated CAPEX of between IDR2-IDR3 trillion (USD216-USD325 million) to get the service off the ground.

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

Telegeography writes…Kerry-born John Riordain, a former chief executive, president and chairman of the management board of Netherlands-based UPC, has purchased a 20% stake in the new owner of struggling Irish alternative operator Smart Telecom. The company is being bought out by Calally, a company owned by Kingspan’s Brendan Murtagh. Riordain is also taking over as Smart’s CEO when Ciaran Casey quits the post next month.

Smart ran into trouble in September last year when it ran out of cash after an expansion plan failed to deliver. Thousands of its customers were then cut off following a dispute with eircom and then it lost a court case to force the regulator ComReg to award it with the country’s fourth mobile licence. Having failed to secure a foothold in the residential phone and broadband market, Smart now plans to focus on corporate clients. ‘We believe that our refocused business plan will allow Smart Telecom to use its own network to provide highly competitive voice and data services. This effectively positions Smart Telecom as the number three operator based on our network capability,’ Riordain said.

Wireless Mobile Telecom

TotaTtele writes…Smart Telecom said Wednesday that it has been advised by Calally, the investment company that is acquiring 100% of the assets and liabilities of Smart Telecom, that John Riordan will be appointed chairman, chief executive officer and president of Calally, effective from Feb. 3, 2007. 

Riordan is a former chief executive officer of UPC, and former chairman and president of the management board of the Netherlands-based cable and internet group.

The company added that the acquisition of Smart Telecom by Calally is proceeding and is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2007. An application will then be made to delist Smart Telecom from the AIM market in London.

Smart Telecom’s acting chief executive Ciaran Casey is leaving the company to pursue to other business opportunities. Smart Telecom director Brian Timmons has also stated his intention to leave the company once the acquisition by Calally has been completed.

Wireless Mobile Telecom

Irish operator Smart Telecom has started a strategic review of its operations, after reporting a 15 percent slide in first-half sales and an end to its cash resources. In a trading update at its AGM, it also announced that CEO Oisin Fanning is stepping for health reasons. Chief operating officer Ciaran Casey will head the strategic review, which will focus on orienting the company more towards profitable growth areas. The operator has currently 16,500 broadband customers, up from 12,000 at the end of May, but reiterated that the process of provisioning remains slow and the number of sales staff has been reduced. While losses for the full year are expected to be in line with market expectations, the company’s cash resources have run out and it is reliant on its main shareholder for working capital and long-term financing. Earlier this year the company said it does not expect operational breakeven until mid-2007. NCB Corporate Finance has been appointed as advisor for the strategic review, focusing on possibilities for long-term financing.

Source- http://www.telecompaper.com

Technorati : Ireland, Mobile, Smart Telecom
Ice Rocket : Ireland, Mobile, Smart Telecom