AMPS cell phone operators to launch prepaid service<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Local operators of the analog system, Advanced
\nMobile Phone Service (AMPS), will soon launch a prepaid billing
\nservice in a bid to compete better with digital rivals Global
\nSystem for Mobile (GSM).<\/p>\n
Winahyo, general manager for general administration and
\nservices of Telesera, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the
\nnew service, which is currently high in demand, would help AMPS
\noperators retain existing subscribers.<\/p>\n
\"We hope the launch of the new service will lessen the
\ntendency for customers to switch to GSM,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that with the new service AMPS operators would be able
\nto survive the competition because they would soon provide cheap
\nand efficient products with a much better sound quality than
\nthose offered by GSM operators.<\/p>\n
Telesera, which serves around 6,700 users in Bali and parts of
\nSumatra and Kalimantan, will launch its prepaid service on
\nFriday. It offers a starter package for Rp 100,000, including Rp
\n50,000 worth of free transmission units which are valid for 90
\ndays.<\/p>\n
Winahyo said the coverage of the prepaid service would be
\ninitially limited to Bali only.<\/p>\n
Telesera is one of the country's three AMPS operators.<\/p>\n
The two other operators, Jakarta-based Komselindo and
\nSurabaya-based Metrosel, said they would launch their prepaid
\nservice next month.<\/p>\n
Komselindo said the service would be used for outgoing and
\nincoming calls, assuring it to be better than the company's
\nearlier service launched late last year, which was only used for
\nincoming calls.<\/p>\n
Komselindo, which covers Java, Bali and parts of Sumatra and
\nSulawesi, did not reveal the price of its new prepaid service.<\/p>\n
Metrosel media relations Airin Maduretno said AMPS operators
\nmade a tremendous effort to satisfy customers so that they would
\nstay on with them.<\/p>\n
She said operators offered some customized services, such as a
\npopular low budget package to allow only incoming calls, a
\nlimited group users package, a limited in town coverage package
\nand now the new prepaid service, to enable customers to keep
\nusing their cellular phone during the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
She also acknowledged that AMPS operators, which introduced
\ncellular phones to the country in the late 1980s, lost some
\ncustomers since the emergence of GSM operators in 1997. Many AMPS
\ncustomers were believed to have switched to GSM and subscribed to
\nGSM's prepaid service.<\/p>\n
According to Telkom's report, Metrosel lost 31.9 percent of
\n38,990 subscribers registered as of March 31 last year, leaving
\nthe firm with 26,528 subscribers on the same date this year.<\/p>\n
Komselindo and Telesera each recorded slight increases of 10.6
\npercent and 3.9 percent to reach 66,331 subscribers and 6,792
\nsubscribers respectively in the first quarter of 1999.<\/p>\n
Airin, however, strongly rejected the assumption that the
\ndramatic shift led AMPS operators into financial disaster.<\/p>\n
\"We were never broke because of the customer migration to GSM.
\nAnd we also don't have debt problems like GSM operators do
\nbecause we do not make huge investments,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Both Winahyo and Airin believed that the AMPS sector would be
\nmuch better off when the country's economy recovered.<\/p>\n
\"We have foreign investors ready to invest in the development
\nand upgrade of the AMPS system into the Code Division Multiple
\nAccess (CDMA) as soon as the situation here allows it,\" he said.
\n(cst)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/amps-cell-phone-operators-to-launch-prepaid-service-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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