Malaysian mobile operator Maxis Communications will introduce third-generation (3G) services in Indonesia later this year through its unit PT Natrindo Telepon Selular, a report said.

Maxis chief executive officer Jamaludin Ibrahim said the service from NTS would start up in the second half of 2006 in Jakarta and surrounding areas.

Maxis is building a "high quality network that will offer good quality services, wide coverage, a solid brand to carry us through and a wide distribution network reaching a larger population," he was quoted as saying in the Star .

"The NTS network should cover more than 50 percent of the population by 2010," he added.

Fast-growing market

Jamaludin said last year that Maxis expected 40 to 50 million new Indonesian mobile subscribers over the next five years, and that the company was hoping to tap into the fast-growing market through NTS, which it acquired last year.

Maxis launched its high-speed 3G services in Malaysia in July and bought NTS in its first foray into the Indonesian market as part of regional expansion plans.

The company announced in December that it would buy Indian mobile company Aircel Limited in a joint venture with an Indian partner.