Palapa Ring (5)

The last non-incumbent member of Palapa Ring consortium, PT. Powertek Utama Internusa has indirectly cancelled its membership (update to this post) . Thus the consortium currently consists of the four-biggest telcos:

• PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom)
• PT. Indosat
• PT. Excelcomindo Pratama
• PT. Bakrie Telecom
  

According to the consortium, Powertek hasn't fulfilled its commitment as stated in the CCMA (Consortium Construction Management Agreement) signed several times ago. The consortium has now to solve / rearrange the investment issue, since it lacks USD 45 mn caused by membership cancellations of Powertek and Infokom.

Palapa Ring (4)

By yesterday (7/8/2008) PT. Infokom Elektrindo has renounced its membership in the Palapa Ring consortium. Thus it now consists of only 5 companies. From several VIPs of the consortium in a press release, several things are revealed:

• The consortium has to find funding for around USD 15 mio. previously committed by Infokom; it is (still) assumed that the project's cost is approximately USD 225 mio.
• Alternatively, it might change network configuration (routes, landing points, and also sections); it was said that the consortium is open for any proposal from the contractor candidates.
• The proposals are still in the evaluation process (means delays ... :-) ... see the pic)
• The VIPs have explicitly also said that due to "indutrial peak seasons" the schedule might further be delayed (the milestone diagram in the picture was released in 3/2008)
  

Palapa Ring (3)

It seems that the project is delayed, just like several other submarine cable projects :-)

Below are several issues related to the project as of March 2008 (source KOMINFO - Ministry of Information and Communications) :

• Capacity 10 Lambdas @ 10 Gbps upgradeable to 16 Lambdas (updated - see my previous PR post)
• Length of the cable 11,202 km (1,857 km inland, 9,345 km submarine)
• Construction begin on Jan 2009; RFS final (all segments) on April 2010
• Section Mataram - Parigi shall be ready (RFS) on Q1/2009
• Section Palu-Manado-Makassar-Kendari RFS on Q2/2009
• Section Kendari-Sorong-Ende-Makassar RFS on Q4/2009
• Section Sorong-Jayapura-Fakfak-Merauke RFS on Q1/2010

Here are several resources related to the Palapa Ring project which can be found on the Net :

• General Palapa Ring project description from KKPPI (click here for a local copy)
• Request for Pre-Qualification from the consortium; searchable from Indosat's or Infokom's sites (click here for a local copy); a different version can be access via the DGPT site
• From the DGPT site you may also see the preliminary Palapa Ring network map (click here for a local copy)

Palapa Ring (2)

PII and IA-ITB have organized a one-day seminar on Next Generation Enterprise Network under a brand-name "Telecommunication Partnership Forum" (ShangriLa Hotel, 26th February 2008). This event was also supported by the Palapa-Ring consortium and by the government i.e. the Ministry of Communication and Information.

Several issues are revealed in this forum, especially those which are related to the Palapa Ring Project:

• The RFP is delayed possibly till the 3rd week of march.
• The consortium will build 3 rings connecting 32 places in eastern Indonesia. However the topology differs than that originally proposed by TT-Tel (compare two pics on the right! - the above pic is an artwork -- not official!)
• Length : 9,350 km undersea; 1,860 km inland
• CAPEX : approx. USD 260 mn
• Cable : 2 FP (undersea with repeater - 16/2.5 or 16/10?); 12 FP (inland / undersea repeaterless)
• Capacity : 9 lambdas lit (either 20 Gbps or 90 Gbps?), 16 potential;
• Capacity/Company : Telkom/4 , Indosat/1, BTEL/1, XL/1, Powertek/1, Infokom/0.44
• RFS : late 2009 / early 2010

Palapa Ring (1)

I remembered when I was a teenager, the government was proposing a national broadband network called Nusantara-21 (N21). In an official document of the goverment, this concept was issued in 1988 (Wow!), about three years after Singapore launched its national IT plan. But I didn't hear it before the time where Singapore began its initiative SingaporeONE and Malaysia initiated the MSC project (surely several time after the Al Gore's 'Information Superhighway' speech :-D )

According to KKPPI, the government re-explores the N21-initiative. It is now called Palapa Ring. The official statement : "The combination of a much higher demand for telecommunication services, ICT applications and reduced costs due to the further development of Of technology has improved the financial feasibility" (of the project).

Need another explanation ? The Jakarta Post (31/01/08) wrote "The Palapa Ring is an ambitious project which aims to link Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua and eight existing network connections or backhauls through an estimated total 35,280 kilometers of undersea and 21,870 kilometers of underground fiber-optic cable".

An initial study has been done (Sofrecom, TT-Tel, ITB ??) and gives the following information:

• CAPEX: around USD 1,500 mn
• Coverage: 33 provinces; 440 districts; 35,000+ km undersea (well, festoon systems); 20,000 km terrestrial
• Construction time : 3 - 5 years (starting from Q3/2008 ?)
• Topology: 7 islands' ring + 1 national ring
• Capacity: 320 Gbps (4/8/STM-64) - 200 Tbps (4/8/40/160 - this is for me somehow not realistic without significant cost for equipment upgrades!)
• Demand in 2010 (rough model): Sumatera --> 120 Gbps; Java --> 150 Gbps; Kalimantan, Sulawesi,Bali-Nusa Tenggara --> 15 Gbps each; Maluku --> 5 Gbps; Papua --> 3 Gbps

The current project's status as reported by some newspapers is listed below:

• The government has coordinated the creation of a consortium consisting of six (6) entities, including all the major operators, for the initial implementation of the PALAPA RING in the eastern part of Indonesia (Telkom, Indosat, XL, Infokom Elektrindo, BTEL, Powertek Utama Internusa,Nusantara Ekaprana Teknoguna Kelola). The spokesperson of the consortium Rakhmat Junaidi (currently BTEL) said "We are about to finish the terms and conditions for the procurement and are hoping to invite bidders mid February" (2008). The bidding is expected to only cover the construction of 9,345 kilometers of undersea and 857 kilometers of underground fiber-optic cables in the eastern part of the archipelago.

• The Directorate General of Post and Telecommunication spokesperson, Gatot S. Dewa Broto, said that the fiber optic network in eastern Indonesia has the capacity of 20 Gbps with investment totaling USD 300 mn.