Govt installs BRTI members<\/p>\n
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Minister of Communications officially installed on Friday
\nthe five members of the Indonesian Telecommunications Regulatory
\nBody (BRTI), the country's new telecommunications sector
\nwatchdog.<\/p>\n
Director General of Telecommunications Djamhari Sirat was
\ninstalled as chairman of the body.<\/p>\n
The other four members are Koesmarihati, Soetjipto (both
\ntelecommunications experts), Hery Nugroho (economist) and Suryadi
\nAzis (sociologist).<\/p>\n
The BRTI officials will have a two-year mandate and can be
\nelected for a second time.<\/p>\n
Hery said that the immediate focus of the BRTI was to campaign
\nfor the government's plan to raise phone charges, saying that the
\nplanned price hike was "theoretically acceptable," but the public
\nneeded to be informed about it more clearly.<\/p>\n
The government was supposed to increase phone charges later
\nthis month, but this was canceled due to strong protest from the
\npublic. Agum said last month that there would also be no tariff
\nhike in the early period of 2004, a move seen to help avoid
\nsocial unrest during the run-up to the general elections.<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives had previously demanded that the
\ntelecom watchdog should be operational before the government
\nraise phone charges.<\/p>\n
BRTI, established in July 2003, will regulate and oversee
\ntelecommunications services and networks, issue licenses, settle
\ndisputes and set a benchmark for services. Therefore the body
\nshould guarantee transparency, independence and fairness.<\/p>\n
However, some experts have doubted the independence of BRTI.
\nThe body was said to be less independent, given the presence of
\nDjamhari as chairman of the watchdog.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-installs-brti-members-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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