State-owned telecommunication operator Telkom aims to expand its presence to Middle East.
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), a state-owned telecom operator in Indonesia, aims to build its presence in Saudi Arabia, as well as other Middle East countries. Through partnership with various local mobile-network operators in the Middle East, the company intends to operate as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), where it will provide its services without owning the network.
Telkom expects to ride on the huge population of Indonesians residing in or traveling to the target region through its international subsidiary, namely, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin).
The company had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi-based Al-Lama Group in 2013, which operates in both the Middle East and African countries in property, hospitality, construction and telecommunications.
Currently, there are one million Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia, while another million people travel to the country alone. Besides foraying into the Middle East, Telkom is also working on its brand presence in Silicon Valley, California.
The budget for the expansions would account for part of the company’s average annual capital expenditure of $2 billion, of which 70 percent was cut out for cellular business, 20 per cent for broadband and the remaining 10 per cent for other infrastructure development, such as telecommunications towers, as per the company.
