Satellite product portfolio to be developed by Telkom (Indonesia)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), Indonesia’s largest telecoms group by subscribers and revenue, has expressed its aspiration to develop a suite of satellite-delivered products.
To materialize this goal, a delegation of officials including five Telkom employees and two from the National Flight and Space Agency has been sent to study in the Telecom-3 orbiter factory in Russia for 18 months.
According to company president Rinaldi Firmansyah, the cooperation includes the usage of satellite image data provided by the space agency to fulfill Telkom’s needs in planning, operating, maintaining and marketing.
TelOne scrutinized by African telco, Telkom
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Representatives of South African fixed line operator Telkom has been sent to Zimbabwe to carry out the discussions regarding the possible purchase of a 49 percent stake in Zimbabwe’s state-owned operator TelOne.
The delegation will also determine the investment needed to upgrade TelOne’s old equipment, on top of acquisition costs.
CCK receives petition from Telkom-Kenya to lower 3G prices
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) got petition from Telkom-Kenya to bring down the fee required to be paid by telecommunications companies to get a third generation (3G) license. It is the
second petition received by CCK in a month from any operator. Currently, the industry regulator is charging $25 million (Sh1.9 billion) from the telecom operators as a 3G license fees.
The operator feel that the amount is unreasonable and might frustrate the industry’s efforts to avail affordable communication services. According to Mickael Ghossein, chief executive Telkom-Kenya, any positive response from CCK will be welcomed as such a huge amount is involved in this project.
Earlier, Zain-Kenya said the operators will take long time to recoup investments due to low returns while they have to pay high costs for acquiring the license in a competitive environment.
Telkom may acquire stake in troubled Bakrie Telecom (Indonesia)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), Indonesia’s dominant telecommunication group plans to acquire a stake in rival telco Bakrie Telecom.
In order to settle debts of more than USD1.2 billion, Indonesian family-run business group Bakrie & Brothers announced in October 2008 that it was looking to sell stakes in several of its major subsidiaries. Telkom’s announcement confirmed the speculations regarding the ownership of the company and its financial trouble for more than a year.
However, according to a report by CommsUpdate, the group’s Esia brand of wireless communication products and services is planning to merge with or buy other rival telecom companies in 2010. The company has taken this move to deal with competition in the market which the company describes as an intense one.
