Bakrie Telecom Uses EV-DO to Provide Distance Learning Program Between Leading Institutions in Indonesia and California
QUALCOMM Founder Irwin Jacobs to Deliver Inaugural Lecture
Jakarta, Indonesia and San Diego, CA, August 24, 2006 - Students at Indonesia's top university for science and technology will be exposed to some of the top U.S. minds in information technology through a lecture series originating in California and delivered over the third-generation wireless network of PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk. (BTEL), one of Indonesia's largest telecommunications companies.
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The distance-learning initiative will be inaugurated Aug. 25 with a lecture by QUALCOMM chairman Irwin Jacobs to students at the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB). Dr. Jacobs is the co-inventor of today's Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) wireless technology, and his talk will be delivered over BTEL's new CDMA2000 1xEV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) network.
"Indonesia has some outstanding young minds -- our winning the Physics Olympics is clear evidence of that. On the whole, however, our educational system still needs support and Bakrie Telecom is committed to doing its part to get Indonesian students the training they need to fulfill their potential," said Anindya N. Bakrie, president director of BTEL.
While BTEL has not commercialized its distance-learning service yet, the research and development-driven launch of this new technology is part of the company's corporate social responsibility program. To make good on this commitment, Bakrie Telecom is making its new EV-DO network available to ITB to facilitate a distance-learning program organized by Dr. Eric Frost, a professor at San Diego State University (SDSU), on behalf of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), with which he is affiliated.
"This kind of program will enhance the expertise of top Indonesian students by exposing them to a range of new, cutting-edge concepts, and it will also build important ties between institutions of excellence in the sciences," said Frost. "We hope this course will be the beginning of a longstanding relationship between Calit2 and ITB, and that this kind of partnership can be replicated at other Indonesian universities in the future."
Through its cutting-edge technology and financial support for the program, BTEL will be able to help Indonesia's top technology students bridge the gap with students studying abroad.
"We are very excited about this new partnership," said Dr. Djoko Santoso, rector of ITB. "This distance learning project will expose our students to the most innovative developments in the information-technology sector. I am confident that it will both inspire students and help equip them to compete in this increasingly globalized economy."
According to BTEL's Bakrie, Dr. Jacobs' inaugural lecture will give students at ITB a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn about the development of CDMA2000 1x EV-DO straight from one of its creators. This unique opportunity will be open to engineers as well as students in other scientific disciplines so that Indonesia's budding innovators can learn directly from one of the giants in the IT field.
"I am confident that this program can help inspire and motivate those who will lead Indonesia's technological development in the future," said Bakrie. "Telecom innovation has not only eased communication, it also relays information in a quicker, easier and more efficient way. For these reasons, we hope to promote greater access to new technologies in an effort to improve the quality of Indonesian education and our standard of living."
Dr. Jacobs was invited to give the inaugural lecture due to his unparalleled stature as the principal innovator of CDMA technology, which has revolutionized the telecommunications industry in recent years. CDMA technology is now being deployed all over the world as the flagship wireless communication technology for voice as well as data. QUALCOMM -- built by Dr. Jacobs as a telecommunications corporation and patent holder of CDMA and other technologies -- is a Fortune 500 company and one of the most respected corporations in the United States.
Prior to founding QUALCOMM in 1985, Dr. Jacobs held various executive positions at Linkabit (M/A-COM Linkabit after August 1980), a company he co-founded in 1968. Dr. Jacobs received his B.E.E. degree from Cornell University and his M.S. and Sc.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 1994. Dr. Jacobs is the recipient of various prestigious awards. In June 2005, he was awarded the Economic Opportunity Award by LEAD San Diego, USA, specifically for the development of CDMA technology. He was also awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Financial Times in December 2005 for his 25 years of dedication to the telecommunications industry.
"His competence and capability are beyond a shadow of a doubt," said BTEL's Bakrie. "We are thrilled that he has agreed to share his experiences and know-how with Indonesian students. Perhaps one day, Indonesia will produce the next Irwin Jacobs."
The long-distance lecture series that will use CDMA2000 1x EV-DO technology is part of Bakrie Telecom's corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. To date, BTEL's commitment to being a socially responsible member of the Indonesian business community has been handled by the Yayasan Bakrie Membangun (the Bakrie Develops Institution), which belongs to the holding company that oversees corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities for the various business units under Bakrie Group Holdings. However, as Bakrie Telecom grows, the company will administer its own CSR programs directly with constituents and key communities. This program with ITB is one of the first such programs, and BTEL said it looks forward to developing and implementing more innovative programs in the future.
As part of this growing commitment to CSR activities, BTEL has created a program called "ROCKS" (Reaching Out to Communities & Kids). The program seeks to identify CSR projects and activities that are uniquely suited for BTEL support. The ROCKS philosophy is that the best CSR programs are not "top down" gifts from the donor but rather activities and projects that are the result of consultation and dialogue with intended beneficiaries. This distance-learning program with ITB, which was a product of dialogue between BTEL and the ITB rector, is a perfect example of this approach. The ROCKS program is committed to generating public participation from volunteers, non-governmental organizations and the government, as well as internally from among its own employees. One of the organization's recent activities was the provision of scholarships for a number of teachers in Bogor, Serang and Banten in an effort to support achievement in higher education.
According to Harry K. Nugraha, senior director and country manager, QUALCOMM Indonesia, "CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology is in the deployment stage for many CDMA2000 1X networks, which will have the ability to provide data communications at a speed of 2.4 megabits per second, with an average throughput of more than 700 kilobits per second."
With those speeds, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO is capable of servicing any application that requires broadband data capacity, such as video conferencing, streaming audio and video, downloading audio and video clips, graphics and picture downloads, games, photographs and movie previews. Users can also exchange those files among themselves, so business communications, entertainment, or science and technology knowledge become more widespread.
About Bakrie Telecom (BTEL)
Bakrie Telecom has been operating since 1996, with the product name "Ratelindo". Since the brand "Esia" was initiated in 2003, the company has grown on average 93% per annum. To meet our commitment to become a national operator, Bakrie Telecom has embarked on a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) collaboration with PT Indosat, with both companies agreeing to share their network infrastructure. Bakrie Telecom has launched many innovative products such as Gile Beneer, Rumpi Abiss, Hujan Duit and the very effective TalkTime Campaign. Our focus on "value for money" and innovation in our offerings has driven our corporate performance. In 2005, the company grew its subscriber base by 153%, increased gross revenue by 34.2% and attained a positive EBITDA. Bakrie Telecom was listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange in February 2006. www.bakrietelecom.com
About Institut Teknologi Bandung
The Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) was founded in 1959 by the Indonesian government as an institution of higher learning of science, technology, and fine arts, with a mission of education, research, and service to the community. The main campus is located north of the city of Bandung. www.itb.ac.id/en/
About QUALCOMM
QUALCOMM Incorporated is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2006 FORTUNE 500® company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market® under the ticker symbol QCOM. www.qualcomm.com
About Calit2
The California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) is a partnership between UC San Diego and UC Irvine. It is one of four interdisciplinary institutes created by the State of California in 2000. Calit2 houses over 1,000 researchers organized around more than 50 projects on the future of telecommunications and information technology and how these technologies will transform a range of applications important to the economy and citizens' quality of life. www.calit2.net
Media Contacts
Media Contact: Doug Ramsey, (858) 822-5825, dramsey@ucsd.edu