ARIAWEST International keeps good commitments to customers

A good relationship between a telecommunications operator and its customers is essential. In this era of globalization, this relationship is going to need to improve.

It has been three years already since PT ARIAWEST International operates a telecommunications network in West Java, making telephony services in the area easier served by more skilled human resources.

People may have been unaware that telecommunications services in the region are now under ARIAWEST management, which presently manages more lines with improved services.

Company president John G. Vondras said that West Java's successful call ratio has increased to 70 percent for local calls and 58 percent for long-distance calls from 40 percent.

"We are committed to optimizing telecommunications services with the right technology and capability of being flexible, simple and cost effective to meet and face the trend of market demand with customer focus," Vondras said.

He said that customer satisfaction was always a top priority.

"Therefore, we must always pay attention to any complaint, even though sometimes problems are caused by the users," Vondras said, adding that punctuality to serve customers was also important.

ARIAWEST is a partner of the state PT Telkom for a 15-year telecommunications project in West Java -- Divre III -- which is being carried out on a joint-operation (KSO) basis. There are four other companies working to install telephone and operate lines along with existing lines in the country's remaining areas.

ARIAWEST works across eight districts, comprising Bandung, Cirebon, Tasikmalaya, Sukabumi, Cianjur, Garut, Subang and Rangkasbitung.

ARIAWEST is jointly owned by PT Artimas Kencana Murni of Indonesia, MediaOne International of the U.S. and the Asian Infrastructure Fund (AIF) of Hong Kong.

Artimas is a local company experienced in telecommunications and other business. AIF is a strong financial investor sponsored by leading financial institutes, including the World Bank and Frank Russel Capital of the U.S.

MediaOne International, formerly known as USWest International, is the international arm of the publicly listed MediaOne Group, the largest broadband communications company. The company brings the power of broadband and the Internet to more than seven million users in the U.S., Europe and Asia. MediaOne also has interests in some of the fastest growing telephone and wireless communications businesses outside the U.S., serving more than five million customers.

More lines

Vondras said that total subscribers in the region has now reached 575,000. "Telephone density is now 2.3, up from 1.4 per 100 population compared to the period before ARIAWEST began operating in the region."

Because of the economic crisis, there were 1,400 telephone lines cut off per month recently as customers failed to pay their bills or request disconnection, he said.

ARIAWEST was incorporated in October 1995. In the following year, the company took over the operation of about 400,000 existing lines in West Java, with 320,000 subscribers.

The company has secured loans pledged by international banks for financing the development of new telephone lines. ARIAWEST has completed a commitment to install 290,000 lines by March 1999.

The company was originally required to install 500,000 lines in West Java by the end of March 1999. Due to the crisis, however, Telkom cut the target of new line installments to 290,000 in June 1998.

Vondras said that ARIAWEST has installed 293,700 lines, a bit more than the obligation set by the memorandum of understanding (MOU).

He said that his company has invested a total of US$140 million, and the total amount of loans disbursed has reached $212 million.

"We have paid an initial investment of $30 million to Telkom while vendor obligation is $70 million."

Now, the project's next phase, from 1999 to 2010, will be the operational phase of Telkom facilities in West Java.

"This year, we will inject $20 million, then another $100 million next year, plus we plan to inject another $750 million in a five-year period providing the directions from the government regarding clarity and commitment on the continuation of KSO is clear," said Vondras.

He said that in running the project, ARIAWEST has always fulfilled the obligation to pay Minimum Telkom Revenue (MTR) to guarantee Telkom's continuous income received prior to the KSO period.

Faith

Vondras said that in addition to the phone line obligation, ARIAWEST has completed a Universal Service Obligation by making available telephone facilities in all subdistricts, capitals and 54 percent of villages throughout Divre III in December 1997, compared to a government target of 50 percent by the end of March 1998.

Anther important matter is human resources development. "It's more difficult to change the culture of working than transferring or bringing in technology. But we have to improve public services by fulfilling our commitments," he said.

To improve public services, employees should understand that fulfilling commitments is necessary, Vondras said.

"For instance, if customers ask for a service on Thursday morning, it means Thursday morning, not Thursday afternoon or Friday morning."

He said ARIAWEST had also set up a program called Development of Year 2000 compliant Siskamaya customer care system providing significant enhancements to the process of customer order entry, repair management and inventory.

"Also, we have developed a Geographical Information System for integrated market and network planning using the most comprehensive digital mapping data in West Java from in-house research," he said.

To improve employees' knowledge and skills, there are regular internship programs held in Colorado, U.S.A.

"We are also investing time and money in our staff through the human resources. We manage to keep training programs for potential executives at approximately 10.28 training days per employee.

"More importantly, we have managed to keep all of our employees during this crisis. We cut costs by sending back many expatriates and we manage expenses very carefully."

Recognition

Vondras said that ARIAWEST had received an ISO 9002 certificate for quality service in all eight district offices (kandatel) and the Divre office.

He said that 33 of 67 subdistrict offices had also achieved world-class standard operations and received the Pataka Abdhi Paripurna Nugraha Award for achieving the standard.

"These are the paths to make Telkom a world-class operator. As its partner, ARIAWEST is preparing Telkom to be a commercial- based company with qualified human resources and ready to face full competition in the globalization era as well as to increase its value to the shareholders."

In addition, he said, the Cirebon Quality Control Team had received a gold medal at the Indonesian Quality Convention in November 1998.

He said that ARIAWEST installed intranet system connecting all of the operating area in West Java and its office in Jakarta.

He said his company has introduced new and advanced technology into West Java, where the terrain was often unknown and harsh, which was no simple task.

He said the process required intense research, development and dedication.

"ARIAWEST has introduced an HFC Cable System, which will be a valuable addition not only to the KSO scheme but to the people of West Java," he said.

Plan

Vondras said that the financial turmoil has caused many companies to face tough times.

"We are doing financial restructuring together with our lenders and vendors to restore our soundness. We are committed to the development of telecommunications in Indonesia and are trying to convince the lenders in the future of Indonesia."

This year, he said, ARIAWEST was about to restart construction activities which were expected to include 40,000 line installations in 1999 and 100,000 more lines next year if there is demand.

"We will continuously improve efficiency by consolidating and converting host switches to remote switches," he said, adding that other activities would include simplifying the network through internal configuration and external interconnection.

"We will deploy fiber optic technology to support the network, digital access network technology and wireless technology and a network operations center."

He added that despite the crisis, ARIAWEST were still committed to and have fulfilled its obligations to pay MTR.

In a related development, ARIAWEST also plans to serve mobile phone services.

"We have secured a license to operate Personal Communications System cellular phones in the region of West Java, including Botabek (Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi), Serang, Purwakarta and Cikampek. Development is scheduled for next year and launching is in the following year," he said.

As a company entrusted to operate and develop telecommunications services, ARIAWEST continues to provide the people with world-class telecommunications technology, information system and expertise with human focus.

In addition to telecommunications development, the company has been involved in several social activities, including donations to orphans and educational sponsorships.