PT Telkom agrees with plan to open up telecom sector<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned listed telecommunications company PT
\nTelkom will not oppose the government's plan to remove its
\nmonopoly much earlier than the existing schedule, the company's
\nsenior executive said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Company operation and marketing director Komarudin
\nSastrakoesoemah said Telkom had no objection to the government's
\nplan to speed up liberalization in the telecommunications sector
\nas long as the exclusive rights currently awarded to state-owned
\ninternational telephone call operator PT Indosat was also
\nremoved.<\/p>\n
\"The favorable time to lift the monopoly is in 2002 or 2003.
\nIt must not be later than that because Indosat's exclusive rights
\nwill naturally expire in 2004,\" he told The Jakarta Post on the
\nsidelines of a hearing with House Commission IV for
\ninfrastructure and transportation affairs.<\/p>\n
He was commenting on the government's recent plan to speed up
\nthe liberalization of the country's telecommunications sector by
\nlifting the exclusive rights given to Telkom and Indosat.<\/p>\n
Director General of Post and Telecommunications Sasmito Dirdjo
\nrecently said the government would lift the monopoly held by
\nTelkom and Indosat by 2002 to comply with the new
\ntelecommunications law, effective in September.<\/p>\n
Under Telecommunications Law No. 36\/1999, Indonesia will
\neliminate all monopolistic practices in the country's
\ntelecommunications sector. The law will allow local and foreign
\nfirms to enter the country's telecommunications sector without
\nhaving to collaborate with Telkom or Indosat. At present there
\nare five local and foreign companies providing fixed-line
\ntelephone services under a joint operation scheme with Telkom.<\/p>\n
Telkom currently holds a monopoly to provide domestic fixed-
\nline telecommunications services nationwide until 2010 and
\ndomestic long distance services until 2005, while Indosat and its
\nsubsidiary PT Satelindo hold the exclusive rights to provide
\ninternational direct dialing services until 2004.<\/p>\n
Sasmito said with the new law, Telkom would also be allowed to
\noperate international telephone calls and Indosat local fixed
\nline service.<\/p>\n
Komarudin said he was upbeat that the removal of the exclusive
\nrights would not really pose a problem to Telkom's business
\nprospects.<\/p>\n
\"The real competition will not emerge exactly at the time when
\nthe monopoly is lifted. New operators will need around two years
\nto develop their business before they can really compete with
\nTelkom,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Komarudin said in order to develop its future mobile telephone
\nbusiness, Telkom was in the process of acquiring a major mobile
\ntelecommunications operator, in which Telkom already has a
\nsignificant share.<\/p>\n
Telkom currently has stakes in six of the seven mobile
\ntelephone operators, including Telkomsel, which Telkom has put
\nits biggest investment in the mobile telecommunications sector,
\ncontrolling 42.7 percent of the company's stakes.<\/p>\n
He said to prepare for the impending competition Telkom would
\ndivest its stakes in some of its subsidiary and affiliated
\ncompanies to make its business portfolio more efficient. (cst)<\/p>",
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