Satelindo hits record sales<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): PT Satelindo, a major operator of global system
\nfor mobile (GSM) communications, announced over the weekend that
\nits sales of hand phones in August reached a record high of
\n12,266 units.<\/p>\n
Adirahman Adiwoso, Satelindo's marketing director, announced
\nhere on Saturday that the sales were recorded in Jakarta,
\nSurabaya and Bandung.<\/p>\n
\"This is a sharp increase, considering that in July sales
\nreached less than 5,000 units,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Adiwoso said that beginning on Sept. 1, users of Satelindo's
\nGSM handsets will be able to \"roam\" into new communications
\nterritory reaching to Singapore.<\/p>\n
\"Roaming with Singapore will be followed by Malaysia,
\nAustralia, Hong Kong, Germany and Finland. Technical tests for
\nHong Kong, for instance, will soon be completed,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Adiwoso said that the possibilities for \"roaming\" should
\nbecome a consideration for the government to exempt handsets from
\nimport duties.<\/p>\n
\"The Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications has
\nrequested the Ministry of Finance to review import duties on
\nhandsets and, possibly, lower them down to zero percent,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Adiwoso pointed out that roaming eliminated country boundaries
\nand increased the possibility of people trading handsets in
\ncountries other than their own.<\/p>\n
Such global trends, he said, should be considered by the
\ngovernment to cut back import duties.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that the abolishment of duties would lower
\nhandset prices.<\/p>\n
Presently, because GSM sales in Indonesia are relatively
\nsmall, companies which provide GSM services face difficulty in
\nreaching their break-even points in a short period of time
\nwithout jacking up the prices of handsets.<\/p>\n
Adiwoso said that importers of handsets currently have to pay
\nan extra 47 percent for each one to compensate for levies
\nincluding import duties, which accounts for 25 percent of the
\nimport price.<\/p>\n
Satelindo presently sells its handsets for Rp 1.89 million
\n(US$845) each, down from Rp 3.95 million last year, when it
\nstarted its sales.<\/p>\n
Adiwoso said that in the near future, Satelindo will expand
\nthe range of its services to Bandung, Surabaya and areas around
\nthe Jakarta-Puncak, Jakarta-Bandung-Purwakarta and Jakarta-Anyer
\nareas.<\/p>\n
By December, Satelindo's GSM services will cover Malang,
\nYogyakarta, Surakarta and Semarang. (icn\/pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/satelindo-hits-record-sales-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}