Montty Girianna, Jakarta

If we ask ourselves about where our country's energy future lies, the likely answer is in natural gas. It can generate electricity, fuel vehicles, cool homes and places of business and be used as a raw material in a number of fertilizer products.

Gas is also a substitute for oil. Oil resources, once thought plentiful, are being depleted and won't last forever. With Indonesia's oil resources being drained the country recently became a net oil importer. Oil, once thought cheap is becoming expensive, as witnessed when world oil prices skyrocketed last year.

The impact is crystal clear. Subsidies for oil products, which induce further reliance on imports, have become a tremendous burden to the state's budget. This may further strain the nation's economic and political strength on the world stage.

Our gas market has recently evolved. Although Indonesia's natural gas reserves are among the highest in the world, its domestic gas consumption is among the lowest. Many obstacles exist that prevent the rapid development and expanded utilization of gas in the nation's market. These include its energy pricing policy, gas development and investment in upstream and downstream infrastructure.

Oil products, which may be substituted by gas, are cheaper than natural gas products. At the same time, the price of natural gas was itself below its true economic value. This resulted in the development of the gas market being hindered by its producers. Natural gas was thus not able to penetrate the energy market owing to domestic fuel prices, which were substantially lower. We most definitely need to rationalize overall energy prices.

More than 90 percent of the country's oil and gas is produced in the private sector, chiefly by international oil companies. Investment is almost completely governed by production-sharing contracts (PSCs). Most of the fiscal and non-fiscal PSC terms are in line with international practice. However, many existing contracts still do not have provisions for gas exploration and as a result there is no predictable basis for forecasting the value to producers of domestic markets. We need to resolve such issues that hinder the development of gas markets.

Also, we have to face the reality that great distances exist between most of our gas reserves and gas demand centers. We do not have a sufficient upstream and downstream gas network (infrastructure for the transmission and distribution of gas). Only 1,000 kilometers of transmission piping and 3,000 km of distribution piping currently serve six cities in the country -- an impediment than could further limit our domestic gas growth. We also have problems with our regulatory framework and have insufficient funds to develop adequate infrastructure for gas distribution.

The nature of our gas industry has recently changed. Domestically, the reduction of fuel subsidies has eased fluctuating fuel prices, making natural gas more competitive as an energy alternative. Growing energy needs in Java and Bali will spur demand for domestic gas. We need more electricity, (approximately another 20,000 MW), to maintain society until 2015. A great deal of this demand will be satisfied by natural gas.

Today, gas consumption in Java accounts for less than 20 percent of Indonesia's domestic demand (close to 1,200 million cubic feet per day [MMSCFD]), which is slightly less than the outer islands where there is a concentration of industrial and fertilizer plants. In the future this figure will increase by between 6,000 MMSCFD and 7,000 MMSCFD and account for half of national total demand. These forecasts will bring definite opportunities to natural gas producers in the domestic market, even in light of the diversification of the international liquid natural gas (LNG) market.

New international producers of natural gas are challenging our leadership in the global LNG market. Our position, in which we supply almost 26 percent of the world's LNG, is in danger, and revenue derived from gas exports -- about 10 percent if our total export revenue -- is also under serious threat.

Japan is currently our largest export market with a commitment to approximately 18.5 million ton of LNG per year. This is followed by Korea, which has a 5 million ton per year commitment, and Taiwan, which has a 3.5 million ton commitment per year. A large number of gas contracts will end in 2010, leaving approximately 9.5 million tons of LNG per year available for sale. This equates to around 50 percent of our current gas exports to Japan.

The development of natural gas has contributed considerably to our macroeconomic stability. Our economy has been improving since 2002. After periods of fluctuation our foreign exchange reserve now registers a steady increase. From approximately US$29.4 billion in 2000, our reserve dropped to $27.5 billion in 2003. It then reached $36.3 billion in 2004. In the first quarter of 2005 it decreased to about $30.3 billion.

Besides foreign exchange rates, our reserve fluctuates depending on the volume and value of exports and imports. One of the sources of our reserve is the value of oil and gas exports. Such natural resource-based exports constitute a significant portion of the national current account. In 2005, such exports contributed approximately 22 to 25 percent.

Our energy prices have been rationalized and the domestic gas market is being restructured. Full removal of oil subsidies, however, will require more time and the substitution of domestic gas for imported fuels will contribute to resolving fuel price distortions. Promoting gas use and implementing a rational gas pricing policy must be further enhanced. This should become a central part of the nation's strategy to reduce its reliance on oil products and phase out subsidies.

Issues corresponding to contracts that have no provisions for gas exploration must be immediately resolved. For existing contracts, any change in terms and conditions must be mutually agreed upon. With respect to new contracts, one must rely on the oil and gas laws and other regulations aimed at creating a competitive environment that provides producers with direct access to consumers.

A greater government role is needed in promoting investment in high-risk, large-scale upstream gas projects, such as export-oriented gas pipelines and LNG facilities. The government must help reduce risks by intensifying dialogue and developing relevant inter-governmental agreements. These agreements must overcome the overarching legal jurisdictions that regulate activities and contracts. In addition, the government must commit to implementing prudent and transparent revenue management frameworks to avoid mismanaged revenue from gas production.

The government has neither the financial or technical capabilities to ensure the successful exploration and production of viable gas reserves. The development of upstream and downstream networks is capital intensive. Investors, both domestic and international, will have to contribute a growing share of investment for upstream and downstream networks. Their participation must be encouraged, not only because private sectors can provide capital, but also because they can enhance efficiency and innovation.

Lastly, it must be in the government's interests to fashion strategies that promote the creation of regional gas markets through LNG and export-oriented pipelines. Careful thought must be given to ensure this is not in conflict with the fulfillment of the domestic demand for gas. The endorsement of dedicated gas developments for export should be carefully assessed in order to ensure that the ultimate aim of increasing and strengthening our foreign exchange reserves is maintained.

The writer is the director for energy, mineral resources and mining at the National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS). The views expressed here are his own.

Source: Jakarta Post

The HIV/AIDS harm reduction program at Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Bandung, West Java, has been operating now for more than two years. Unfortunately, many drug addicts are still reluctant to undertake the treatments, thanks to repeated police raids and arrests.

Rana (an alias), for example, told The Jakarta Post that she got the shock of her life last August when her younger brother, who was undergoing Metadon therapy at one of the clinics in the hospital, was arrested by police without any apparent reason.

"My younger brother was suddenly arrested by two weapon-touting police. They covered my brother's face with a jacket and brought him to a police station for interrogation," said Rana.

At the station, Rana's brother was asked to take a urine test and was interrogated for three hours. The police never announced the result of the urine test nor explained why her brother was arrested.

Failing to prove that Rana's brother possessed drugs at the time of the arrest, police charged him with carrying concealed weapons.

Rana's brother was released two days later, but not until their family paid Rp 2 million (US$215) to the police.

"He had to be released, as we don't want him to stop undergoing Metadon therapy," said Rana, adding that her brother has been undergoing the therapy for more than six months.

Metadon Community member Ramli (an alias) said that two other drug addicts undergoing Metadon and Subutex therapies were arrested in August 2006 and another in October. They were arrested almost immediately after their therapy session.

The Metadon Therapy Clinic at Hasan Sadikin Hospital was established in mid-2005. It provides synthetic opium -- Metadon and Subutex -- for drug users. Metadon is a liquid synthetic opium and costs Rp 15,000 ($1.60) per treatment, while Subutex is a peppermint-like synthetic opium.

Currently, 65 former intravenous drug users (IDUs) are being treated at the hospital.

The arrest of Rana's brother was not the first. Immediately following the clinic's founding, police raided it and arrested drug users undergoing treatment.

"Eleven people were arrested in the first raid and 16 in the second immediately after their therapy session," Ramli said.

"We are willing to do this (providing therapy) because we want to prevent people from contracting HIV. So this is not for us," said Ramli, who claimed that he was an IDU for nine years until he quit in 2003 with the help of Metadon therapy.

At least 64 percent of the 798 HIV/AIDS cases in Bandung are directly connected to needle sharing among IDUs. The harm reduction program is thus a necessary measure to reduce HIV/AIDS cases.

Teddy Hidajat, head of the Metadon Therapy Clinic, said lack of information dissemination among police officers in the field had led to the raids.

"The arrests should not have taken place, especially in the hospital compound. The arrests will make people afraid to come to the hospital (for treatment)," said Teddy, adding that he had filed a complaint with the West Java Police.

Capt. Susiana of the West Java Police admitted that many police officers in the field had no information about the harm reduction program.

"The arrests of drug addicts undergoing Metadon therapy reflect a lack of communication among officers," he said.

However, Teddy believes that a lack of information on the program among police officers was just one problem haunting the harm reduction program.

"Up until now, we only have an (informal) understanding (with the police), without any binding regulations. But then again, the understanding is only with high-ranking officers, not with those in the field," he said.
(JP/Yuli Tri Suwarni)

--Source Jakarta Post

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung

The sounds of Sundanese kecapi (zithers) and flutes reverberated across the hall of West Java Regional Council on Jl. Diponegoro, Bandung, West Java, in late December. Six Sundanese women belted out traditional Sundanese songs.

There was no dress code for the occasion, with around 200 guests arriving in traditional dress and modern attire, many of them even in t-shirts and jeans. All of the guests were celebrating their new year, but it was not the Christian calendar's New Year, which was still three days away.

"We're observing the new year of Kala Sunda (the Sundanese calendar)," said Roza R. Mintaredja, chairperson of the commemoration committee.

The Sundanese new year, according to Roza, has been celebrated since 2005. The turn of the year this time enters 1943, based on the calculation of Kala Sunda. Ali Sastramidjaja, a Sundanese culture enthusiast born in Bandung on Oct. 27, 1935, originally initiated the discourse on Kala Sunda.

Nearly all the Sundanese in West Java believe in lucky and evil days for certain festivals or jobs but they still use the Javanese calendar as the basis of calculation. For the government system the universal Christian calendar is applied, while Sundanese Muslims also follow the Islamic Hijriah calendar for their fasting rituals and post-fasting celebrations.

Delving into Sundanese culture since his youth, Ali first attempted to be break the community's dependence on established systems. His concern over the reluctance of most Sundanese to explore their own history motivated the grandfather of many grandchildren -- and who has always been unwilling to name their number -- to dig deeper into the long hidden calendar.

As a starting point for the search for Kala Sunda, he used the 20th century AD Sundanese calendar notes of his grandfather from Sukabumi, West Java, written around the 1950s. "The Sundanese calendar notes I inherited from my grandfather were the initial material for my inquiry into Kala Sunda," Ali said.

Kala Sunda, Ali says, has not been used by the Sundanese ethnic group for five centuries. He believes the Sundanese calendar is the most accurate system in the world, better than the Christian calendar validated by the United Nations in 1956, the Hijriah calendar offered by the Arabs and the Pranata Mangsa (season-based astrology) that is the esteemed heritage of the Javanese.

Ali's self-funded search began in 1983 with the aid of computers. In the history of Sunda, only one inscription uses the Sundanese calendar, which is the Citatah Inscription in Cibadak, Sukabumi, better known as Sanghyang Tapak of the 11th century AD.

He strived to find the formulas for reestablishing the Sundanese system with its two calculation standards: the Surya (solar) year and the Candra (lunar) year. It was a complicated procedure, with his computers regularly failing.

"Nine computers have broken down after being operated for days at a stretch," said Ali, the technical school graduate who completed a computer course in Japan in the 1970s.

In his search, Ali surfed web sites and perused books on Christian, Islamic, Javanese and also Indian calendars for comparison. Only in 1991 did Ali discover the formulas needed to decipher Kala Sunda, which contains solar and lunar systems. In this calendar, there is the short year with 365 days for Surya and 354 days for Candra, besides the long year comprising 366 days (Surya) and 355 days (Candra).

The solar year has three short years, with a long one in the fourth. But the number of days each year is always divisible by 128. The end of the Surya year is marked by the sun's position in the southernmost point of the hemisphere. Its calendar days start from 1 to 15 and another 1 to 15. The first 15 days is marked by the change from a half moon to full moon, and the second from a full moon to half moon.

Unlike the Christian calendar, with one leap year in every four years, Kala Sunda's Candra year has one leap year in every 4,200 years and Surya year one in every 460,000 years. With such complexity, the Sundanese calendar printed for public use carries an instruction on the practical applications of Ali's findings. There are for instance good days for fishing or crop planting, as well as best moments for meetings, parties, trips or moves.

Once Ali had his Kala Sunda work examined by an astronomer from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). "After scrutinizing the calendar, Pak Moedji Raharto, the astronomer, said Kala Sunda was 138 times as accurate as the Christian system," revealed Roza. With his discovery considered complete, Ali secured a patent for the new calendar formulas in 1991.

Sadly, it took a long time for him to get public support for the newly unraveled calendar. Even regional authorities only saw it as an ordinary cultural treasure to be preserved. It was a group of Sundanese cultural observers affiliated with Candra Sengkala Foundation that promoted Kala Sunda. As head of the foundation, Roza managed to convince Bandung Mayor Dada Rosada to publish the calendar.

"We launched the first edition at the official residence of the mayor only on January 18, 2005," said Roza. In order to boost the Sundanese ethic group's confidence in their own calendar, Ali smartly included a map of Sunda's jurisdiction as illustrated by a Greek philosopher and mathematician Ptolemy in 150 AD. "The map only names the region Greater Sunda Islands and Lesser Sunda Islands, vastly extending as far as Madagascar," Ali indicated.

He also included a wonderful picture to enhance the "prestige" of the Sundanese: the largest megalithic site of archeology in Cianjur, West Java, estimated to date back to 60,000 BC or as early as the period of Atlantis, the lost continent. The appealing illustrations were meant to arouse ethnic pride among Sundanese people and thus make it easier for them to accept Kala Sunda.

After two celebrations in Bandung's municipal facilities, support for Kala Sunda was gained from the provincial administration, which this time accommodated the observance of Sundanese new year in the West Java government's building. Despite the three events, however, Kala Sunda has remained limited in its spread. With small donations from the provincial culture and tourism office and individuals, only 1,000 copies have been published.

Ali is obsessed by a desire to change the dates of various Sundanese historical relics and records into those based on Kala Sunda. However, the path to this end may be as difficult as his quest for Kala Sunda itself. A lot of Sundanese people have forgotten the calculations for lucky and ominous days.

Dodi Romadhani, 32, an indigenous Sundanese, said he didn't any of the superstitions. When he chose March 7, 2004, for wedding with a Sundanese girl from Bandung, he did not use Kala Sunda. "All days are good for me. If I pick a certain day for my business or travel, my consideration is pragmatic rather than magic," remarked Dodi, laughing.

Millions of other Sundanese people in West Java may also ignore their own calendar. It means another tough job for Ali to convince them that Kala Sunda is not merely a part of history. It will take more than nine years, the period in which Ali unveiled the mystery of this ancestral treasur

Source: Jakarta Post

Duncan Graham, Contributor, Surabaya

Cynics claim that owning a television station license is like having a permit to print money. Read on to learn about a TV mogul who's licensed to spend, not earn.

Mogul? In this case the cap doesn't fit bald Bhiku Dhammavijayo, boss of East Java's Dhamma TV, a station with no advertising.

This means viewers can enjoy a program from go to whoa without being urged to purge dandruff and find true romance, ride a motorbike that never sees thicket-thick traffic, or whiten skin for instant popularity.

With this most welcome quality there has to be a downside; no police reality shows where ghouls gape at corpses, sinetrons (soapies) with lovelorn teens -- or news. The first two are no loss, but a telecaster without breathless reports on the day's events is like a warung with no rice.

"All other stations have news so you can turn to them, then come back to us," said Dhammavijayo breaking the first commandment of a television producer: Thou shalt not suggest viewers might finger the remote control once they're married to your wavelength.

But Dhammavijayo has smashed all conventional ideas about this rapacious industry and the people who feed its hungry jaws. Yet again a correction is necessary -- for Dhamma TV the metaphor is too brutal.

"We always seek the peaceful way," he said. "We must be positive, never negative. We must develop goodness.

"The programs we transmit must not disadvantage people. They must not be dangerous or cause suffering. What's important is what we can give, not what we can get."

When he's not calling the shots, woops, calmly directing activities among the 15 staff and numerous volunteers at Indonesia's only Buddhist TV station, Dhammavijayo is a monk. (Dhamma means the teachings of Buddha).

Born in Surabaya into a Buddhist family with a car accessories business he found information on the religion's teachings hard to find. This was during the Soeharto era when the regime's steel grip on politics, information and the economy extended to faith.

He went to Thailand for eight years and trained in monasteries. On returning to his homeland he became a missionary and publisher, distributing books and pamphlets about Buddhism around the archipelago.

While this was fine, the message wasn't reaching the masses. "At every monastery I visited I urged them to open a radio or TV station," he said. "All agreed it was a good idea but only at Samarinda (in East Kalimantan) did they start broadcasting.

"Most thought the job too big or impossible to achieve. So I had to do it myself."

By now the Orde Baru era had ended and with it the rigid controls on telecasting. New licenses became available -- all you needed was kilowatts of cash and a contact list of mates in high places. But the Buddhists were able to do things differently.

"Actually it wasn't difficult at all," said Dhammavijayo. "We were very fortunate. We found someone who had already secured a license and had the equipment, but after three and a half years of preparation couldn't go ahead. Actually it was going to be a Christian station.

"You can only succeed if you have a social mission. (There goes TV commandment number two.) If only money is your god then you won't. You can't take money with you when you leave this world."

So on Jan. 15 last year the station powered-up from its tower in the village of Oro Oro Ombo, 1000 meters up the mountain slopes outside the East Java town of Batu.

This area has been allocated to all telecasters and is a forest of red and white steel structures. Many are mighty affairs alongside intimidating buildings inside high fences with lots of staff, as befits a megabucks machine.

Though not Dhamma TV. Its control room is a tiny roadside cottage alongside a sapling antenna dwarfed by its giant neighbors -- though building of new Rp 600 million (US$67,000) facilities are underway nearby. Two squashed blokes tweak knobs and finesse transmission.

Though the catchment area has 8.5 million souls, Dhamma's signal is not as powerful as the big operators. Those who do receive can watch imported wildlife programs where nature is red in tooth and claw and decidedly not peaceful, education, talk and travel shows and, of course, a bounty of Buddhism.

Has this created problems? Haven't fundamentalists rushed into the foothills to fell the unprotected mast and kill messages that might induce faith changes?

"We haven't had any difficulties," said placid Dhammavijayo. "We're not seeking to convert anyone. We only want to explain our beliefs.

"The truth is not for Buddhists alone -- it's for everyone. All we are doing is trying to find the best way.

"Not all the workers we employ are Buddhists. We need people who can do the job."

Many are communication students huddled over screens in an editing suite where the insertion of one extra VCD might cause the walls to rupture. More generous quarters are being built. There's no studio so all programs have to be shot outside. If staffers weren't barefoot this could be described as shoestring TV -- running on only Rp 25 million ($2,800) a month.

Like to buy some airtime? It won't require an overseas loan. For just Rp 2 million ($220) you can have an hour to reach the masses. Don't bother applying if you sell smokes, but if you have a different religious message -- no worries.

And don't expect to be hustled by leggy marketers with promotion plans and desirable discounts. This station isn't into selling space. However if you ask nicely and aren't offering anything offensive then a deal might be done.

Neither Dhammavijayo nor the station manager Jemmy Mulyono (an electrical engineer) had any prior experience of TV. Consequently they haven't imported the awful culture of the industry into Batu.

There are no up-themselves executives screaming in phones, hiring and firing in the same breath, no wannabe stars willing to murder for a flickering moment of fame, no grotesque displays of raw emotion.

How many people watch Dhamma TV? Stand by for another shock -- the producers have no data and seem unconcerned. They don't subscribe to the ratings system and like any sane person doubt the veracity of the statistics that power decisions in the industry.

"Looking back over the past year we've been told by many that they find our programs interesting and comforting," said Dhammavijayo. "Viewers who have been depressed and suicidal have been helped.

"Our station is also recommended for those who have problems sleeping. If you watch our meditation program at night you'll have no trouble dozing off."

A TV boss honest about his product being soporific? As noted at the start of this story, Dhamma TV is no ordinary station. Happy birthday!

(If you're in the Malang area you can catch Dhamma TV on Channel 3.)
--thejakartapost--

Zatni Arbi, Contributor, Jakarta

The telecommunication industry -- both fixed and mobile -- has never been as lively as it is today. New technologies are challenging existing ones. For those with a lot of money and eyes on this industry, the question would be how difficult it is to offer telecom services today.

Certainly, it will still require a lot of investment from a newcomer. As we all know, anyone aspiring to be a telecom operator has to pay the regulator a heap of cash -- amounting to hundreds of billion rupiahs -- for the license to use the scarce radio-frequency band. In most cases, the licenses are awarded to the highest bidders through a tender.

The good news is that for new operators, at least now, the challenge has shifted from technical areas to marketing, from physical network planning to business planning.

Who was responsible for the shift? The leading telecom infrastructure providers.

Companies such as Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia have been offering what is known in the industry as Managed Services.

"The idea of Managed Services is not entirely new," said Peter Froitzheim, country director of Managed Services and Consulting & Integration at Nokia Networks Indonesia, in an interview some time ago.

"The old Telkom's KSO, or Joint Operating Scheme, was a good example," he added. "Vendors built, operated and then transferred ownership to Telkom after a certain period of time. It was essentially how the Managed Services operation works."

Today, a Managed Services provider such as Nokia can do virtually everything for the operator. It can plan the network, install the hardware, integrate it with existing networks, optimize it, operate it for a specified period, and maintain it.

Managed Services providers take over the technical burden from operators, so that the latter can focus on creating new deals to attract new customers.

Managed services may also include the necessary training, so when the contract is over the operator will have the capability to do everything on their own.

"The range of services offered varies from one contract to another, depending on what each individual operator needs," Stephen Niwa, engagement director of Managed Services Networks, APAC at Nokia, commented during the interview.

What about the networks that have been in existence for many years? Do the operators still need the help of Managed Services providers? The answer is most likely yes, even if they have deployed infrastructure from different vendors.

By the way, the industry term for infrastructure that incorporates technologies and products from different suppliers is typically called a "multivendor environment". Of course, it requires a lot of resources to make these components talk seamlessly with one another.

XL, the third largest mobile operator in Indonesia, is a good example of a multivendor environment. It uses technologies and infrastructure products from companies such as Ericsson, Huawei and Siemens. To be able to provide managed services for such a complex environment, companies like Nokia must have resources with know-how and skills in the products of other companies.

There are various reasons an operator will choose a mix-and-match approach to building their nationwide network. One of them is to avoid dependence on a single infrastructure vendor. By opting for a mixed environment, an operator can protect itself from being dictated by a single supplier.

Another reason for using the multivendor approach is the fact that vendors usually have different pricing structures, while operators are more interested in keeping their capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) at a minimum.

Network fine-tuning is an example of how challenging the work of a Managed Services provider can be.

If your operator's newly launched 3G services are not giving you the level of service that you expected, that is usually because the base transceiver stations (BTS) may need to be tweaked further. The direction of the antenna may need to be adjusted, or the transmission power may have to be lowered.

It is like cooking a gourmet dish. You need the right amount of salt, pepper and coriander to make it taste great.

"Managed services allow operators to concentrate on their business rather than technical issues," Peter added. "We have seen how operators now compete by offering innovative packages instead of boasting their technical superiority. Time to market is getting shorter and shorter."

The influx of 3G services -- and their High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) brother -- across the world has opened up more opportunities to Managed Services providers.

For example, Indosat recently signed a Managed Services contract with Nokia. Nokia is providing Indosat with turnkey services including civil works, network planning, implementation and integration of a WCDMA 3G/HSPA network. As part of the Managed Services agreement, the Finnish company will build, operate and transfer (BOT) optimized 3G network for Indosat.

However, the services are not limited only to network deployment and optimization. It can also include Intelligent Network (IN) and push-to-talk hosting. Managed Services companies can also provide business consulting services that will help individual operators understand what business strategies will work and what will not. Again, the portfolio of services vary from one provider to another.

Worldwide, Managed Services is indeed gaining momentum, as operators are under increasingly competitive pressure. Nokia started its Managed Services in 2005. Last year, it announced that Managed Services already accounted for 30 percent of its network business. Today, the company runs its Managed Services from Chennai, India, but its clients include Vodafone in Australia and New Zealand, China Mobile in China, TIM in Italy, and Excelcomindo, Indosat and Telkomsel in Indonesia.

Last June, Nokia and Siemens merged their network businesses toward a 50-50 company called Nokia Siemens Networks. Nokia's strength lies mainly in the mobile phone network while Siemens has a sizable footprint in the fixed network. The combined power will result in their increased market share in the booming global telecom industry.

Along with the increased network business, it is easy to expect that the Managed Services will flourish further.

-- source--jkt post