Wednesday, 25 June 2008

Indonesian Market Driving Ultra Low-cost Handset Penetration

The CDMA Development Group (CDG) announced that as of Q1 2008, Indonesia had more than 16.3 million CDMA2000 subscribers.

According to Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG, Indonesia has emerged as a prime showcase of CDMA2000's core value proposition. "With a dynamic combination of ultra low-cost handsets and value-added broadband services, Indonesia's six CDMA operators have boosted their revenue streams and propelled the region into the spotlight for mobile telephony and Internet growth," said LaForge.

Currently, Indonesia's CDMA2000 operators are Telkom Flexi (PT Telkom), StarOne (Indosat), Smart Telecom, Fren (Mobile-8 Telecom), Esia (Bakrie Telecom) and Ceria (Sampoerna Telekomunikasi Indonesia or STI).

By March 2008, the total number of CDMA2000 subscribers among all six carriers exceeded 16.3 million, up from 14.4 million at the end of 2007 and 7.8 million at the end of 2006, representing annual growth rates of 53 percent and 85 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, A.R. Martirez, Chief Executive Officer of PT Smart Telecom said that with CDMA2000, they are confident in providing a telecommunication service that is within reach by all people from all levels of society. This proves that CDMA2000 can readily fulfill all telecommunication wants and needs of customers in this country.