Interview: Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, Indosat, Indonesia: “The eco-system for [TD-LTE] smartphone devices still has a way to go.”

Prashant Gokarn, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer for Indosat

It’s clear from this interview with Prashant Gokarn, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer for Indosat, that TD-LTE device availability is a big concern in the Indonesian market and Gokarn will be speaking on the subject of “Operator expectations from vendors and from device OEMs” at the 2nd annual TD-LTE Summit, taking place on the 8th-9th April 2014 at the Fairmont Singapore Hotel, Singapore.

How is Indosat’s LTE roll-out progressing?

Indosat has TD-LTE spectrum at 2.3GHz in the Western part of Indonesia (West Java) and has 20MHz of (GSM) spectrum in the 1800MHz band.

On the FD-LTE side of things, our network has been recently modernised and is LTE-ready;  we need a simple upgrade to launch FD-LTE on 1800MHz band on our modernised network. We are now looking at the price points for FD-LTE compatible handsets and we continually monitor our device portfolio for the number of LTE compatible handsets on our network.

Interview: Senior researcher for Telkom, Indonesia: “We believe mobile cloud computing will be a great source of new revenues on top of the LTE network.”

Hadi Hariyanto, senior researcher for Telkom, Indonesia

Hadi Hariyanto, senior researcher for Telkom, Indonesia is taking part in a panel discussion on integrating carrier Wi-Fi into telco networks on Day Two of the LTE Asia conference, taking place on the 18th-19th September 2013 at the Suntec, Singapore. Ahead of the show we find out more about the complex spectrum issues that are holding back the deployment of LTE in Indonesia.

A year ago you had completed LTE trials in Indonesia. How has your LTE network progressed since then?

We are monitoring the progress of the LTE ecosystem including device maturity, VoLTE, and new business opportunities. Since it is most likely that we will be using re-farmed spectrum, we have conducted an intensive study of heterogeneous networks. This technology will enable us to anticipate the possible challenges and opportunities of delivering seamless mobility between 3G, LTE and Wi-Fi networks.  We also actively contribute to a European ICT Project, related to LTE small cells and mobile cloud computing, which is called Tropic.  We believe mobile cloud computing will be a great source of new revenues on top of the LTE network.

Interview: CTO, PT. Bakrie Telecom: “I believe small cells will play an important and key role in the LTE access network.”

Thatha Rao, CTO, PT. Bakrie Telecom, Indonesia

Thatha Rao, CTO, PT. Bakrie Telecom, Indonesia is speaking in the Network Optimisation track on Day One of the LTE Asia conference is taking place on the 18^th-19^th September 2013 at the Suntec, Singapore. Ahead of the show we speak to him about his the various challenges of deploying LTE in a developing country.

What have been the main developments and major milestones for you over the last 12 months with regards to LTE?

Currently we are preparing various 4G deployment options as the Indonesian government has not yet decided on the exact spectrum and license mechanism for LTE deployment. It is expected to announce this during 2014.

How much of a challenge do you feel monetising LTE will be?

It’s definitely going to be a big challenge, especially in Indonesia. This is a key developing country in the region but on the positive side it has lots of growth prospects over the next few years. The traditional model of deploying LTE for high spending customers and later extending the service to other segments may not work this time, simply because the revenues generated by this niche segment can’t justify what we need to spend for CAPEX and OPEX. However, if we choose the mass subscriber approach, price becomes the predominant factor compared to service quality and high speed.

The LTE Asia conference is taking place on the 18^th-19^th September 2013 at the Suntec, Singapore. Click here to download a brochure for the event.

Tell me about the fresh challenges that LTE brings with regard to backhaul?

I believe small cells will play an important and key role in the LTE access network in order to create better coverage and speeds. To reach these small cells with optical fibre though is definitely not an economical option and would also be very tedious, so we need a strategy that uses point-to multi-point radio backhaul technologies using short wave, which offers high bandwidth within short distances.

Where is LTE Advanced on your roadmap? Will you implementing it all at once or gradually introducing key features?

We preferred to take a gradual approach, based on demand and customer needs.

Why is attending the LTE Asia conference such an important date in your diary?

Frankly, I don’t want do make many mistakes in my LTE deployment, so  learning from the struggles and success stories of other LTE operators is the prime reason for me to attend this conference.

Interview: Division Head Network Quality Assurance for Indosat: “Carriers need to start to migrate from radio backhaul to fibre”.

Jeremiah Ratadhi, Division Head Network Quality Assurance for Indosat, Indonesia

Jeremiah Ratadhi, Division Head Network Quality Assurance for Indosat, Indonesia is speaking on the challenges of providing backhaul for rural areas, on Day Two of the LTE Asia conference, taking place on the 18^th-19^th September 2013 at the Suntec, Singapore. Ahead of the show, we find out more about the challenges of providing backhaul for LTE in the region.  

What have been the main developments and major milestones for you over the last 12 months with regards to LTE?

Indosat plans to modernise 25,000 of our base stations to MSR BTS (Multi-Standards Radio Base Station) that already for LTE. It’s a major project and currently we have 50 per cent competed. However, Indosat is still waiting for the Indonesian government to issue licenses for LTE before we can launch our network.

How much of a challenge do you feel monetising LTE will be?

The challenge will be great since the amount of data traffic is set to increase significantly, while subscribers may not be willing to pay more for the higher speeds. At the same time, ever more OTT players will be able to sell their content thanks to the high-speed LTE networks.

Interview: Executive Director, ICT Institute, Indonesia: “4G, will have a great positive impact on the Indonesian community’s economy and job creation prospects.”

Heru Sutadi, founder and executive director, ICT Institute, Indonesia

Heru Sutadi, founder and executive director, ICT Institute, Indonesia is appearing on Day One of the LTE World Summit taking place on the 24th-26th June 2013, at the Amsterdam RAI, Netherlands. Ahead of the show we find out more about this thoughts on the issues of roaming spectrum harmonisation.

What overall impact has the development of advanced telecom services, and specifically 4G, had in Indonesia?

Telecommunications developments, and in particular 4G, will have a great positive impact on the Indonesian community’s economy and job creation prospects. As a predominantly mobile broadband country, Indonesia requires the latest wireless technology because the public need high-speed access, putting pressure on the operators to provide a higher quality of service for its users.

What areas need to be focussed on to improve the environment for LTE roaming?

To develop LTE roaming, a suitable environment should be built, the focus of this being the harmonisation of frequencies in the region and around the world. This will then enable interoperability between mobile devices and customer premises equipment (CPE). Without proper regard for interoperability, and the use of LTE/4G frequencies that do not match the frequency allocation used in other countries, roaming will of course be a problem.

How important will spectrum harmonisation be for the mobile technology that follows LTE?

Harmonisation of the frequency spectrum will be very important as it will help lower the price of mobile device and CPE and also improve interoperability for users when roaming abroad.

What do you think will be the most exciting development in telecoms in the next two years?

In the next two years, the speed and capacity of telecommunications equipment will increase. This needs to be done to meet the challenges of rapid increase in the demand for data. Large files such as video will dominate but other applications will also be so important, because what is the use of a high-speed network if it is only used for conversations or SMS.

Why is the LTE World Summit such a critical event in your calendar?

The LTE summit is very important because through this event we can see and hear the latest developments in technology and establish communications and networking with all parties in the world involved with the development of LTE.

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The LTE World Summit, the premier 4G event for the telecoms industry, is taking place on the 24^th-26^th June 2013, at the Amsterdam RAI, Netherlands. Click here to download a brochure for the event.