Telkomsel budgets Rp 1.5t to improve transmission<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): PT Telkom's subsidiary mobile phone service
\noperator PT Telkomsel will invest up to Rp 1.5 trillion (about
\nUS$207 million) this year in a bid to improve its service and
\ntransmission capacity, a company executive has said.<\/p>\n
Telkomsel director of commerce Hasnul Suhaimi said on Monday
\nmost of the funds would be used to build 400 base transmission
\nstations across the country to increase phone line capacity.<\/p>\n
"With 400 new base transmission stations and other facilities,
\nwe will be able to absorb up to 630,000 new subscribers this
\nyear," he said.<\/p>\n
He declined to reveal the source of the investment, but said
\nthe money would be derived from the company's own budget as well
\nas loans from several other companies.<\/p>\n
Hasnul said the company developed only about 150 base
\ntransmission stations last year due to financial problems
\nstemming from the country's worst ever financial crisis.<\/p>\n
The crisis, triggered by the sharp drop in the value of the
\nrupiah against the U.S. dollar in late 1997, has affected almost
\nall business sectors in the country.<\/p>\n
He said Telkomsel currently has 1.05 million subscribers of
\nboth the company's regular and prepaid billing services, the Halo
\nand simPATI cards.<\/p>\n
Subscribers of Telkomsel's prepaid billing service simPATI
\naccounted for 55 percent, or about 600,000, of the company's
\ntotal customers, he said.<\/p>\n
He predicted that the company would sell more of the prepaid
\nproducts this year because the product appealed more to customers
\nwith its subscription-free and flexible pulse usage.<\/p>\n
"We predict the customers of our prepaid product will grow to
\nover 70 percent of our total subscribers by the end of the year,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Telkomsel extended service to 533,000 new customers in 1999,
\nsome 425,000 of which were of the prepaid billing product and
\n108,000 of the regular postpaid billing product, he said.<\/p>\n
Telkomsel, one of seven cellular phone operators in the
\ncountry, sells between 40,000 and 45,000 Halo and SimPati cards
\neach day.<\/p>\n
Telkomsel entered an agreement with state-owned postal service
\ncompany PT Pos Indonesia on Monday to make the latter an
\nauthorized dealer for Telkomsel's prepaid product simPATI.<\/p>\n
Hasnul predicted that PT Pos Indonesia, through its offices in
\nbig cities across the country, would be able to contribute
\nroughly 10 percent of Telkomsel's total product sales.<\/p>\n
Telkomsel is controlled by state-owned PT Telkom with 42.72
\npercent, state-owned international direct dial operator PT
\nIndosat 35 percent, the Netherlands' PT Telecom BV 17.28 percent
\nand a private firm owned by local entrepreneur Setiawan Djody,
\nSetdco Megaset Asia, which has 5 percent. (cst)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/telkomsel-budgets-rp-15t-to-improve-transmission-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}