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tate telecommunications firm Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) is waiting for the US government'€™s approval to kick off operations of the company'€™s newly acquired joint venture in Guam, a US-controlled Pacific island.

Telkom'€™s vice president for corporate communications, Arif Prabowo, said in Jakarta on Monday that the acquisition of Guam-based telecommunications company GTA Teleguam still needed clearance from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the US Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS).

Telkom, Arif said, would have a 51 percent stake in Teleguam, which means that the company will officially become a Telkom subsidiary once federal regulatory approval is given.

'€œThe benchmark for clearance from the US is not quick, but that'€™s not to say that there are any obstacles or problems in the acquisition. Once it happens, there will not be any changes on Teleguam'€™s part: It will retain operations as it is,'€ Arif said on Monday.

He added that in terms of telecommunications infrastructure, Guam was already well prepared, with a firmly established 4G/LTE network; moreover, a majority of internet cables between Asia and the US pass through the tiny US territory.

'€œThe population and the customer base is not that large in Guam, but it serves as a strategic location in the digital business. There are very few fiber optic cables that run directly from Asia to Hawaii [in the US], so our network will receive a boost,'€ he said.

Arif expressed hope that the acquisition would be completed by early next year, adding, though, that he could not give any definite dates.

Indonesia'€™s biggest telecommunications operator, Telkom, agreed in June to take control of AP Teleguam Holdings, the principal owner of GTA Teleguam, from Japanese private equity firm Advantage Partners. Sources told Reuters that Telkom had agreed to pay about US$300 million to buy Guam'€™s telecoms and pay-television operator GTA, in what will be the biggest overseas acquisition by the firm.

Additionally, Telkom Indonesia president director Alex J. Sinaga explained that any expansions or foreign acquisitions that Telkom pursued in the future would probably focus on digital collaboration and cooperation, with other telecommunications companies or with IT firms in general.

'€œ[Teleguam] has a 4G license, voice-over LTE, etc. It'€™s complete in the digital sense. That'€™s the kind of companies we are aiming to work with overseas. Any company that shares our vision, be it telecoms or IT, we will work with,'€ Alex said on Monday.

He added that any future plans for expansion were likely to focus on the Asia-Pacific region and that the company would reserve 25 percent of its revenue as capital expenditure for expansion activities next year.

At present, Telkom globally operates branch offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Taiwan, the US, Malaysia, Macau, Timor Leste, Saudi Arabia and Myanmar.

The firm, which celebrated the 20th anniversary of its initial public offering (IPO) on Monday, expected to book Rp 100 trillion in total revenue this year, Alex said.

Meanwhile, Telkom reported a profit of Rp 11.7 billion in the nine months ending September, a 4.45 percent year-on-year (yoy) increase from the Rp 11.2 billion it earned in the same period in 2014, thanks to higher revenues, which grew 15 percent to Rp 75.72 trillion yoy from Rp 65.84 trillion, according to a company report filed to the bourse on Wednesday. Meanwhile, operating expenses rose 27 percent to Rp 21.29 trillion from Rp 16.76 trillion.