Telkomsel Trials 3G Wireless with Siemens

ASIA : Siemens is leading the Indonesian mobile operator Telkomsel into a new genera-tion of mobile communications.

The Siemens group has set up a complete 3G trial network for Telkomsel, which was launched at the operator's 10th anniversary. Innovative broadband and multimedia services will be tested for a six-month period. In a country with a mobile penetration of 19 percent and a population of 240 million spread across thousands of islands, Telkomsel contin-ues to push the frontiers of network coverage and quality.

Siemens has built a leading-edge 3G test network comprising radio and core elements, that integrates seamlessly into Telkomsel's existing GSM network. The trial network includes HSDPA-capable (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) 3G/W-CDMA base stations, market-leading 2G/3G packet and circuit switches, and multimedia-enabling platforms that facilitate services such as video calls, broadband internet access, video streaming and multi-party video conferencing. In addition, Siemens is also providing a full portfolio of services such as network design, rollout, integration and optimization, as well as operational and technical support.

"Siemens and Telkomsel can look back on a very successful ten year partnership. To-gether we made the first GSM call on Indonesian soil, introduced the region's first IN prepaid service, and Siemens is again the first to provide Telkomsel with 3G coverage. At the end of 2003, Siemens had already demonstrated a live 3G network as a pilot net-work in Jakarta", said Christoph Caselitz, Head of Mobile Networks at Siemens Com-munications.

"A 3G network is for us the avenue for providing private and business customers with new and attractive services. We estimate that the first commercial 3G services will be available by early 2006. The Indonesian consumer is quick to adopt technological inno-vations, so we are confident that 3G will be successful. We will also rely on strong part-ners to build the best network", said Mr. Bambang Riadhy Oemar, Director of Planning and Development at Telkomsel.

The Siemens 2G/3G combined switching technology ensures that Telkomsel can fully reuse its installed switching platforms. Siemens is the market leader with its 3G intro-duction and deployment strategies, encompassing 3G Releases 4 and 5. Today, 90 per-cent of 3G/W-CDMA subscribers in commercial networks worldwide use network equipment from Siemens/NEC. With a market share of over 30 percent, Siemens is also by far the largest network supplier in Indonesia.

Telkomsel is the leading operator of cellular telecommunications services in Indonesia by market share.
By the end of June 2005, Telkomsel had more than 21 million customers that represent 54% market share in the telecommunication industry. Telkomsel provides GSM cellular services in Indonesia, through its own nationwide dual band 900/1800 MHz GSM network, and internationally has 238 roaming operator partners through 356 international networks in 145 countries (June 2005). Telkomsel's operations in In-donesia have grown substantially since the commercial launch of its post-paid services on 26 May 1995. In November 1997, Telkomsel became the first cellular telecommunications operator in Asia to introduce rechargeable GSM pre-paid services, a solution with Siemens. Telkomsel has the largest network cover-age of any of the cellular operators in Indonesia, providing network coverage to over 90% of Indonesia's population and is the only operator in Indonesia that covers all of the country's provinces, cities, and re-gencies ("kabupaten"). The company offers GSM Dual Band (900 & 1800), GPRS, Wi-Fi, and EDGE Technology.