Munich, November 9th, 2006: Siemens Networks has been awarded a contract for construction of a 3G network by Telkomsel, the No. 1 in the Indonesian mobile communications market. The framework agreement between Siemens and Telkomsel, which will run for three years, covers delivery of 3G radio access networks and radio relay technology for large parts of Telkomsel's network as well as turnkey implementation and technical services for network operation by Siemens. This W-CDMA contract is Siemens' second from the Asian island state.
The goal of the Indonesian carrier Telkomsel is to supply the entire country with 3G network services. Indonesia's eastern regions, which are experiencing rapid economic growth and a fast rate of overall development, will profit particularly from the high technical standard of Siemens mobile communications technology.
Siemens is supporting the Indonesian carrier, which serves about 30 million customers, by supplying, installing and operating a 3G radio access network (RAN). Components of such a network include base stations and radio network controllers. For wide area transport, Siemens will also supply radio relay technology based on the Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) and Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) standards.
This new order strengthens Siemens' market position in Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. It represents the continuation of a strategic relationship with Telkomsel that has developed since construction of the 2G network for the carrier: In December 1993, the two companies built the first GSM connection in Indonesia, and in 1997 they launched the first prepaid wireless service in Asia based on an intelligent network (IN).
"Siemens is proud to have been chosen again by Telkomsel as its partner. Our end-to-end 3G solutions will enable Telkomsel to reliably meet the demand for innovative mobile services," said Christoph Caselitz, President Mobile Networks at Siemens Networks.
Telkomsel is the leading operator of mobile telecommunications industry in Indonesia with a market share of more than 50%. By end of September 2006, Telkomsel has achieved slightly over 32.4 million active subscribers. Telkomsel provides GSM cellular services in Indonesia, through its own nationwide Dual band 900/1800 MHz GSM network, and internationally, through 356 international roaming partner networks in 145 countries (June 2005). Telkomsel's operations in Indonesia 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. Telkomsel has the largest network coverage 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 regencies ("kabupaten"). Telkomsel operates a dual band GSM 900/1800 service, complete with GPRS and EDGE technology, and the recently launched UMTS service
