Punters await 'super-powered' 3G mobile technology

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 10/26/2006 9:21 AM  |  Business

Ika Krismantari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For the last two years, 26-year-old public relations officer Sulistianingsih has kept her finger crossed, hoping that she will change from an ordinary nine-to-five single career girl into a super woman, who gets what she wants from a new given power.

The power that Sulistianingsih, or Listia, as her friends call her, wishes to have is third-generation (3G) mobile technology, which offers momentous capacity and broadband capabilities to deliver significantly higher rates of data, comprising voice, text, pictures and video, so that she can do anything she wants by simply touching the keypad on her mobile phone.

""I bought this handphone (Nokia N70) two years ago so I could access the powerful technology,"" Listia told The Jakarta Post.

She said that she was excited when the 3G service was first launched two months ago. The hope of having the power of being everywhere and knowing everything lay in front of her eyes.

She imagined that she would be able to finish her job at the office, while also controlling the job of her subordinates in different areas through direct coordination using the video call facility.

She dreamt of accessing all the latest information around the world using a fast Internet connection anywhere she wanted, thus putting her in the front seat of every discussion. She wanted to skip traffic and watch her favorite singer in concert with the help of the new technology.

However, after getting 3G technology and holding the phone in her hands, Listia realized that her dreams were still far away from being a reality.

""I always encounter difficulties in using the video call facility because not every spot provides the 3G network,"" Listia said.

She also complained about the video-streaming operation, which sometimes could not be accessed.

And in Indonesia Listia is not the only one who has these problems.

Indonesia finally got its first 3G technologies after two big cellular operators, PT Telkomsel and PT Excelcomindo Pratama, officially launched their 3G services, in August and September respectively.

The launches were the most-waited moment for the providers, who spent millions of dollars to get their licenses from the government earlier this year.

Telkomsel paid Rp 218 billion (US$23.9 million) for its block, while Excelcomindo spent Rp 188 billion. Moreover, the two operators will have to pay Rp 1.6 trillion in fees for 10-year contracts, which are the same as other operators -- PT Indosat, PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler and PT Hutchison CP Telecommunications -- for winning the 3G license tender. The three operators have yet to launch their 3G operations.

The huge amount of money that the two operators must pay gave them second thoughts about spending a lot of more money to roll out their 3G services across the country.

Currently, Excelcomindo only operates 3G in seven cities, including Jakarta, Bandung, Bekasi, Surabaya, and Denpasar. Meanwhile Telkomsel operates in areas of nine big cities, including Batam, Palembang, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Bali. But not all of the cities have been covered by the 3G services.

An even in the cities, coverage is patchy. People in Jakarta can only access 3G services in several main areas, such as Jl. Sudirman, Kuningan, Senayan, Menteng, Monas and Jl. Merdeka Utara.

An advertising agency's client service manager, Monika Puspitasari, 26, urged the providers to build established network services before they started offering services. Monika, who went to Australia to study, said that Indonesia should refer to Australia in building its 3G network service.

""What they are only doing now is upsetting the customers, who have high hopes for the service. This could be a bad precedent for 3G usage in the future,"" said Monika, who added that she regularly lost calls while using the service.

Janoe Arijanto, 34, said that he also had bad initial impression of 3G operations in Indonesia, when experiencing the new technology on a friend's handset.

""Once, I tried to watch TV with it, but it was awful. It is like watching a pirated VCD and when I tried the video call facility, it was not good also due to a delay of a few seconds in the perceived image,"" he said.

After that, Janoe was never tempted to try the technology again. He prefers to use modest GPRS technology to read emails and the news.

IT expert Roy Suryo acknowledged the importance of network availability for 3G users, however, he said that it was not an instant process, requiring a lot of time and investment.

""Third generation is not a cheap technology, you can tell just by the its handsets. However, I believe that with its advanced technology, 3G has very good prospects for the future,"" Roy said, adding that he was upbeat in the next year's second quarter, 3G subscribers would reach 1.5 million to 2 million people.

Roy also believed that in the future the cost of building a base transceiver station (BTS) would be cheaper in line with the development of 3G users in the country.

It currently costs about $200,000 to build a BTS.

He also believed that the handsets, which currently cost around Rp 4 million a piece, would eventually become cheaper as the secondhand market grew.

However, for Alexander, 22, the technology is simply nothing as he does not find any significance in its usage.

""I don't think that I need such technology to support my daily activities ... for me voice calls and smses are enough,"" Alexander said. ""3G is just for you, who are looking for entertainment. Look up those providers' commercials. 3G is all about fun.""

Monika agreed with the idea, ""If the providers have yet to be serious about the service, why should we?""

Monika usually uses the technology to share silly moments with her brother.

""Once, he contacted me just to show off his new hair style,"" Monika said.

In response to Indonesian consumer habits, Roy said that the most urgent thing for the 3G service was to educate people in using the new technology in the right way, not merely for entertainment.

Data from the Indonesian Information and Communication Society estimates that of the roughly 50 million mobile phone users in the country, only 10 percent use 3G technology. The rest uses older technology for conventional SMS and voice calls.

""The people should really be aware of this technology advantage. If they know it, they will realize how 3G helps people live in a modern era,"" Roy Said.

He cited the success of SMS technology in the late 1990s as a good example which was supported by all providers prompting the public to use the technology.

""I see a chance for the technology to succeed in the future because all big providers will be participating in the sector, making the opportunity to educate public much more open,"" Roy said, saying multimedia messaging service (MMS) failed due to a lack of involvement from the big operators in the initial operation of the technology.

The optimism was also voiced by the vice chair of the Indonesian Information and Communication Society, Mas Wigrantoro Roes Setiadi, who said that the development of the technology would surely depended on the providers' willingness to educate the market to use the technology.

""The demand can be created. A global system for mobile communications technology needs a 14-year period of time to be established in the country. I can see that 3G has the same opportunity,"" said Mas Wigrantoro.

Excelcomindo corporate communications head Ventura Elisawati said that the company had set up promotion programs to make 3G technology more popular in the public eye.

""We held seminars and workshops inviting working people, students to get in touch with the technology,"" Ventura said, adding that the company was also publishing advertorials in mass media to educate people on the technology's advantages.

Currently, Excel has 20,000 3G subscribers, coming from its existing customer base, while Telkomsel has 240,000.

""We have yet to decide on any target for the customers. We are now still focusing on the effort of increasing public awareness of the technology,"" Telkomsel public relations officer Suryanda Stevanus said, adding that the company also held several seminars and workshops about 3G.

While providers are still busy with the education program for their customers, Listia is still battling with her obsession of becoming a ""super woman"".

""Sometimes I just call the man on the service center to experience the video call facility, because not all of my friends are familiar with the technology and use handsets that comply with the technology,"" Listia said.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.