Govt to finalize phone services decree<\/p>\n
Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government is drafting a decree that will, among other
\nthings, oblige telephone operators to contribute to a fund for
\nthe development of basic telephony services in more than 43,000
\nvillages and sub-district capitals nationwide that currently lack
\nsuch services.<\/p>\n
The regulation forms part of the implementation of the United
\nService Obligation (USO) program aimed at providing phone
\nservices for all citizens, according to Gatot Dewa Broto, a
\nspokesman for the Directorate General of Posts and
\nTelecommunications at the Ministry of Transportation.<\/p>\n
The USO was agreed upon during the ITU conference in Nairobi,
\nKenya, in 1995, when all countries were advised to provide their
\ncitizens with basic telecommunications facilities, such as
\ntelephone, fax and telegram services.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Gatot said, the Asia Pacific Telecommunications
\n(APT) organization at its summit in Tokyo in 2000, issued the so-
\ncalled Tokyo Declaration calling on all member countries to
\nprovide all of their citizens with access to telecommunications
\nby 2005.<\/p>\n
Currently, Indonesia has a fixed line penetration rate of
\nabout 3 percent, meaning only about 7.82 million fixed lines are
\navailable for more than 220 million people.<\/p>\n
There are 43,022 villages and 870 subdistrict capitals which
\nstill have no access to basic phone services, according to
\nministry data.<\/p>\n
Gatot said the government has targeted the provision of such
\nservices to all villages and sub-district capitals by 2005 in
\nline with the Tokyo Declaration.<\/p>\n
Aside from the contributions made by telephone operators,
\nfunds for the USO program would be taken from the state budget
\nand loans, Gatot said, adding the total funding required for the
\nproject was Rp 475 billion.<\/p>\n
The portion of these funds to be provided by telecoms
\noperators was still being discussed by the team drafting the
\ndecree, according to Gatot.<\/p>\n
The government was committed to starting the USO program soon,
\nwhile waiting for the finalization of the decree, Gatot said.<\/p>\n
\"This year alone, we have allocated some Rp 90 billion
\n(US$10.1 million) from the state budget to provide basic phone
\nservices in more than 7,500 villages,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gatot said that at the beginning, the government would handle
\nthe development, funding, supervising and control of the USO
\nprogram with some of the expenses to be covered by the telecoms
\noperators after the regulation was finalized.<\/p>\n
Next year, the government plans to expand the USO program into
\nmore than 17,000 villages.<\/p>\n
In 2005, the USO program will be implemented in another 18,500
\nvillages to complete the provision of basic phone services in
\nevery village in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Previously, the government, through state-owned
\ntelecommunications company Perumtel, was the sole party
\nresponsible for providing all citizens with basic phone services.<\/p>\n
However, after Perumtel was privatized as PT Telkom, the
\nimplementation of the USO has fallen into abeyance given that the
\ncompany is now a profit-oriented corporation.<\/p>\n
The economic crisis that hit the country in the middle of 1997
\nfurther diverted Telkom's attention from the USO program.<\/p>\n
\"Prior to the crisis, the telecoms operator allocated about 20
\npercent of its profits to the USO program. However, now that
\nfigure is down to about 5 percent,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-finalize-phone-services-decree-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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