85 new telecom kiosks opened

JAKARTA (JP): The Bekasi branch of state owned PT Telkom has signed agreements to open 85 new telecommunications kiosks.

PT Telkom's manager for the area, Mulyanto, said the agreements meant there would shortly be 391 telecommunications kiosks in the Bekasi area.

"It shows that we are still making a profit even though we are facing an economic crisis," Mulyanto said after the signing ceremony on Wednesday.

He said that besides serving more people, the increase in the number of kiosks would help to increase the company's income, "so the shops are very important for Telkom."

He said the new kiosks would enhance the services offered to customers in Bekasi, Karawang and Purwakarta. There is now an average of one telecommunications kiosk for every 22,000 citizens in the area, he said.

The 391 kiosks are linked to 1,611 telephone lines.

PT Telkom currently has 191,713 customers which are served by 38 automatic telephone exchanges and 3,190 public telephones in the Bekasi area, he added. (jun)