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(The Jakarta Post via NewsEdge) Indonesia's mobile telecommunications sector has a bright future with a sustained increase in the demand on the back of the current low market penetration, industry executives said.
Hasnul Suhaimi, president director of Excelcomindo Pratama, said the mobile telecommunications penetration rate, which currently stands at 32% to 35%, with a total of 75 million subscribers, is still relatively low
According to Hasnul, the penetration rate, based on an annual growth rate of 7.5%, would reach its peak at around 50% within the next two or three years as the market was already beginning to consolidate
'Thus, the industry will continue to be attractive for the next two or three years,' Hasnul said
According to data from the Ministry of Information and Communications, the number of mobile phone users is expected to increase up to 2010, with the average growth rate amounting to 26.7% per year
By 2010, the number of mobile phone users would reach 122.1 million, up from 66.5 million last year and 46 million in 2005, he said.
Echoing Hasnul's comments, Kiskenda Suriahardja, the president director of the country's top mobile operator, Telkomsel, said that the industry was now in a transition phase to stable growth over the next two or three years
As the market leader, Telkomsel, which currently has about 38 million subscribers, would strive to maintain its position by expanding into more remote areas, as well as providing the best technology and quality in its services
By contrast with the booming cellular market, the fixed-line market is facing slower growth, with a predicted average growth of 20.1% per year until 2010
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