Lucrative packages available for CDMA users<\/p>\n
Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology has
\nstarted to gain ground in the country's telecommunication market
\nwith more and more people switching to the relatively new
\ntechnology.<\/p>\n
The number of subscribers of the CDMA-fixed wireless services
\nhas now reached 1.8 million. Although the CDMA market is still
\ndominated by Telkom's Flexi service, the number of subscribers of
\nother CDMA operators has also continued to show a significant
\nincrease in the past several months, apparently due to their
\naggressive sales campaigns.<\/p>\n
\"More efforts have to be made to further promote the advantage
\nof the CDMA technology to the public. With such efforts, we hope
\nmore people will switch to the new technology,\" said Nadia Mars,
\nvice president of corporate communication of PT Bakrie Telecom,
\none of the country's CDMA-based phone service operator.<\/p>\n
A fixed-wireless service is a phone service that has limited
\ncellular mobility within a designated area, but its rates are
\nquite cheaper compared to the rates of GSM mobile phone
\noperators, or almost equivalent to the rates of the fixed
\ntelephone service.<\/p>\n
Aside from competitive rates, the CDMA-based phone service
\nalso offers other benefits, such as crystal-clear voice quality.<\/p>\n
Experts said that there is still huge room for growth in the
\ntelecommunication sector in Indonesia where the telephone
\npenetration is still quite low,<\/p>\n
At present, only about 8.5 million people have access to
\nfixed-line phones, while about 23 million subscribe to the
\nexisting mobile phone services provided by GSM operators. The
\nnumber of the subscribers of the CDMA-based services which were
\nintroduced in Indonesia less than two years ago is around 1.8
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
New operators of the CDMA-based phone service include PT
\nBakrie Telecom, with its Esia fixed-wireless access service,
\nMobile-8 Telecom with its Fren service, PT Indosat with its
\nStarOne service and Mandara Selular Indonesia with its Neo_N
\nservice.<\/p>\n
Esia has launched aggressive campaigns during the past several
\nmonths to lure young subscribers.<\/p>\n
Following its success with Gile Bener (simply crazy) package,
\nEsia is, for example, launching another package Ngrumpi Abis (gab
\ntill you drop) to further win the hearts of young subscribers.<\/p>\n
Like Gile Bener package, the latest package also provides
\nunlimited free local calls and Short Message Service (SMS) to
\nfellow Esia subscribers and even to Telkom's Flexi until the end
\nof this year.<\/p>\n
Esia subscribers using particular brands of the CDMA handset
\ncan also enjoy the package thanks to the company's sales
\ncollaboration with several mobile phone vendors, according to PT
\nBakrie Telecom's retail sales' vice president Charles Sitorus.<\/p>\n
\"The demand on Esia cards is 40 times more per day thanks to
\nthe packages,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Apart from offering packages, the operator also established
\nmore phone service outlets in Jakarta and Bandung, West Java. The
\noutlets would serve as a place where the public and subscribers
\ncould not only find various Esia products but also convey
\ninformation and complaints, said PT Bakrie Telecom's corporate
\ncommunication vice president Nadia Mars.<\/p>\n
Bakrie Telecom started to market Esia service in September
\nlast year, with Jakarta and Bandung, West Java, as its areas of
\noperation.<\/p>\n
Currently, it has 400,000 subscribers and the number is
\nexpected to reach 3 million in the next five years, Nadia said.<\/p>\n
Like Bakrie Telecom, Mobile-8 Telecom, the provider of Fren
\nfixed-wireless access service, has also launched joint sales
\ncampaigns with several handset vendors and financial
\ninstitutions.<\/p>\n
The joint sales campaign which often offers a discount of up
\nto 60 percent when purchasing a CDMA set of certain brands, is
\nquite helpful in attracting new customers.<\/p>\n
Such packages are quite effective in attracting subscribers,
\nwho are generally still reluctant to take the advantage of the
\nCDMA technology due to the high price of its handsets, according
\nto Mobile-8 Telecom's public relation manager Reita Sitanala.<\/p>\n
Mobile-8 Telecom's packages, like Fren Smart Buy, Fren Jumbo
\nPack and FrenSip have been also designed to help potential Fren
\nsubscribers to buy a CDMA handset, she said.<\/p>\n
The Smart Buy package is targeted to potential subscribers of
\nthe post-paid Fren service. \"Under this package, the would-be
\nsubscribers interested in buying a CDMA handset are offered 60
\npercent discount,\" she added.<\/p>\n
Fren Jumbo Pack provides a free CDMA handset for potential
\nFren subscribers provided that they purchase a pre-paid Fren
\ncard.<\/p>\n
Mobile-8 Telecom obtained a license to run CDMA-based phone
\nservice in 2002 and began its commercial operation last December.<\/p>\n
Apart from conducting promotional campaign, Mobile-8 also
\ncontinues to develop base transceiver stations (BTS) and
\nnetworks.<\/p>\n
\"At present the company operates 345 BTS in Java and we plan
\nto build more so that the number of BTS in Java will reach 433 by
\nthe end of this year,\" she added.<\/p>\n
No less attractive are packages offered by PT Indosat,
\nprovider of StarOne fixed-wireless access service.<\/p>\n
One of the ongoing sales programs is called StarOne Makin
\nBerani (bold StarOne) package. The program was launched in
\nOctober 2004 and will run until December 2004.<\/p>\n
The package offers a free voucher valued at Rp 50,000 and 100
\nfree SMS as a bonus to those interested in using StarOne service.
\nIt also provides free local calls to fellow StarOne subscribers
\nas long as they make a call between 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.<\/p>\n
New subscribers of StarOne post-paid service will not only be
\nexempted from paying a subscription fee for three months but also
\nfrom paying local calls provided that the calls made to fellow
\nStarOne subscribers were between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., or on
\nSundays, according to Devi.<\/p>\n
StarOne started operations in August 2003, with Jakarta and
\nSurabaya, East Java, as its current operational areas.<\/p>\n
StarOne is targeted to grab between 50,000 and 100,000
\nsubscribers this year. \"The availability of CDMA handsets of
\ndifferent brands at relatively affordable prices will contribute
\nto the increase in the number of subscribers,\" she said, adding
\nthat the service quality, infrastructure and large network would
\nalso be contributing factors.<\/p>\n
Indosat has developed 200 BTS in Jakarta and 90 in Surabaya
\nfor its StarOne service.<\/p>\n
A plan is also underway by the operator to expand its
\noperational areas to at least 11 cities in the country in the
\nnear future.<\/p>",
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