A near-infrared (NIR) luminescent erbium (III) ternary complex has been prepared with an ion-associating sensitizer of IR5, a NIR dye whose large absorption cross section covers the visible spectrum around 488 nm and especially the NIR spectrum around 980 nm. In this paper NIR photoluminescence from the complex in bulky powder is obtained. The 1.54 mum emission of erbium ion upon 980 nm laser diode (LD) excitation is remarkably enhanced, as a result of effective indirect excitation of erbium ion via IR5 (harvesting most excitation light). The luminescence mechanisms upon indirect excitation are simply described. It is suggested that the investigated complex is potentially an active substance for the fabrication of planar optical amplifiers operating at 1.5 mum, which in particular can be conveniently based on cheap pumping sources such as 980 nm LDs and are compatible with the current optical communication network.