Government to revise 3G mobile service license<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
House of Representatives Commission IV said on Wednesday that the
\ngovernment had ignored warnings it had issued regarding a flawed
\n3G mobile service license bidding process, which might lead to
\nthe cancellation of the license.<\/p>\n
The process, in October, was carried out by the Directorate
\nGeneral of Posts and Telecommunications and a team of consultants
\nfrom Bandung Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n
A member of Commission IV, Enggartiasto Lukita, said that they
\nhad issued a warning to the Directorate General to revise the
\nconditions for the bidding process, in a hearing on July 8 and
\nalso at a working meeting on Sept. 25.<\/p>\n
The warnings included the elimination of an up-front bidding
\nprocess registration fee and monopolistic practices for the 3G
\nlicense (because it only allowed one telecommunications company
\nto provide the 3G mobile service nationwide).<\/p>\n
However, the warnings were ignored by the Directorate General,
\nwhich proceeded with the bidding process.<\/p>\n
Director General of Posts and Telecommunications Djamhari
\nSirat said that they had eliminated the up-front fee to avoid the
\nhigh operational costs of the 3G service, which might burden 3G
\nservice subscribers.<\/p>\n
However, Enggartiasto contradicted the statement by saying
\nthat the target for 3G mobile services would be middle- to upper-
\nclass consumers, so it would not matter if they were charged high
\nfees as mobile subscribers. The fees would effectively become
\nnon-tax state revenue for paying the country's debts, and various
\nsubsidies for poor people.<\/p>\n
He also mentioned as an example that in other countries, such
\nlicenses were sold at very high prices, around several hundred
\nmillion dollars. He also said that the monopoly in the 3G license
\ncase was absurd because in other countries licenses were offered
\nwithout restriction for companies to buy, and the whole process
\nwas transparent.<\/p>\n
Enggartiasto claimed that the lack of transparency on the part
\nof the government had caused Indonesian ratings to continue
\ndeclining, and had left the country as one of the most corrupt in
\nthe world.<\/p>\n
Members of House Commission IV concluded that they would hold
\nanother meeting on Nov.19 with Minister of Communications Agum
\nGumelar to get more information regarding this matter.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a press release from the directorate said that it
\nwould still give the 3G license to PT Cyber Access Communication
\nas the bidding process winner, with the additional proviso that
\nit start providing the service in September 2006 at the latest.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Commission IV also questioned the appointment
\nof two companies, PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara and PT Citra Sari
\nMakmur, to carry out a government project aimed at providing
\nbasic telephony services for about 43,000 villages that currently
\nlack them.<\/p>\n
\"We didn't know if the two companies were really capable of
\ncarrying out the project. Why were these two appointed; why not
\nany of the others?\" Enggartiasto said, adding that the commission
\nwould seek an explanation from Agum at the upcoming meeting.<\/p>\n
The government appointed the two companies, without a tender
\nprocess, to carry out the Universal Service Obligation (USO)
\nprogram aimed at providing phone services for all citizens.<\/p>\n
As initial funding, the government will allocate Rp 45 billion
\n(US$5.02 million) from the state budget for the three-year
\nproject.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-to-revise-3g-mobile-service-license-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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