Operators battle for better services during holidays<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Four major cellular telephone operators in Indonesia are
\nbattling to satisfy customers and lure hundreds of thousands of
\nnew ones during the upcoming Idul Fitri holidays, by offering a
\nwide range of services, including some unusual ones.<\/p>\n
Telkomsel, which currently holds a 54 percent market share in
\nIndonesia, said that they would increase their short message
\nservice (SMS) capacity from 1,500 messages per second to around
\n2,500 to 4,000, to prevent the network from jamming up by an
\noverload of SMS traffic during the holidays.<\/p>\n
Telkomsel corporate spokesperson Suryo Hadiyanto said that
\nTelkomsel would add 10 mobile base transceiver station (BTS)
\nalong the mudik (exodus) path to overcome the network problems
\noften occur during the peak season.<\/p>\n
Under the service name Telkomsel Siaga, Suryo said that
\nTelkomsel was working together with 21 national automotive
\ndistributor service posts. It was also working with 21 radio
\nstations to provide information for the journey.<\/p>\n
"We also have 'free roaming' service for customers during the
\nholidays, so that they can receive a call from anywhere in
\nIndonesia without being charged, said Suryo.<\/p>\n
Besides the usual service, Telkomsel is also offering a life
\ninsurance service for its users.<\/p>\n
"Right now we are working together with Cigna to provide the
\nservice," said Suryo. Telkomsel users could send a text message
\nto 2580, and they would be charged Rp 5,000 (58 U.S. cents) for
\nan insurance policy worth Rp 50 million for death and Rp 250,000
\na day for hospital care. The insurance will expire 30 days after
\nthe SMS is sent.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Satelindo and IM3 cellular operators, both owned by
\nIndosat, are also preparing for the unofficial battle of services
\nbetween the operators.<\/p>\n
Cellular Marketing Director Fadzri Santosa said that Satelindo
\npromoted a program called Mentari Mudik Asyik which was a service
\nunlike any other. It includes building 50 temporary rest stops
\nalong the northern coastal highway, and will have facilities
\noffering massages, haircuts, TVs, VCDs, PlayStations and also
\nsnacks and refreshments for tired travelers.<\/p>\n
Fadzri added that Satelindo wanted to increase the number of
\nits customers by providing the low-cost Mentari starter pack,
\nwhich sell at a price of Rp 50,000.<\/p>\n
As for roaming, Fadzri said that Satelindo already provided
\nfree-roaming service to their customers and also a flat price of
\nRp 1,499 per minute.<\/p>\n
Fadzri also added that Indosat, would add 500 BTS more and
\nincrease its SMS capacity from 700 messages per second to 1200.
\nSince both Satelindo and IM3 are under Indosat, so the service
\nimprovement will affect both.<\/p>\n
Excelcomindo, which enjoys 16 percent of the market share,
\nlaunched starter packs called Perdana Bening which provides many
\nadvantages for new users, said Excelcomindo Corporate
\nSpokesperson Fritz E. Simandjuntak.<\/p>\n
He said that people who bought the new starter packs would
\nalso get a map for their journey home in the holiday season, and
\nit would also provide 20,000 free car headsets.<\/p>\n
Fritz said that Excelcomindo was not worried about the network
\ncongestion because Excelcom had a large SMS capacity. He said
\nthat currently Excelcomindo could handle 2 million SMS per hour.
\nWith 2.7 million customers, the SMS capacity would be more than
\nsufficient.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/operators-battle-for-better-services-during-holidays-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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