Indonesia's second largest telecoms company, PT Indosat Tbk, said on Thursday it expected to increase its mobile phone subscribers by almost 30 percent next year from a target of 14 million by the end of 2005.
"With current economic policies and the slowing down in economic growth and assuming we don't have declining revenue, in 2006 our number of subscribers is targeted to increase by 3-4 million," Indosat president Hasnul Suhaimi told a public meeting.
Indosat holds around 30 percent of Indonesia's 40 million mobile phone subscribers, representing nearly 20 percent penetration rate to its population.
The penetration rate is relatively low compared with Malaysia, where 65 percent of its population has subscribed to the service, and 45 percent in Thailand.
Analysts and industry executives predicted that the number of users in the world's fourth most populous nation would hit 45 million by the end of this year and reach 80 million in the next three years.
Indosat is the second largest mobile phone operator after PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel).
Indonesia's largest telecommunications company, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk, has a 65 percent stake in Telkomsel, while Singapore Telecommunications Ltd holds the rest.
Telkomsel mobile phone subscribers account for around 56 percent of the total market.