Call-back services vex local operators

Call-back services vex local operators

JAKARTA (JP): The country's international telecommunications
providers consider illegal call-back services operated by
overseas firm a major headache for the international call
business.

The state-owned international telecommunications carrier PT
Indonesian Satellite Corporation (Indosat) and privately-owned PT
Satelit Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo) agreed that such practices
will reduce state revenues because these call-back service
providers are based in foreign countries, targeting customers in
Indonesia.

Indosat spokesman J.B. Basuki told The Jakarta Post here over
the weekend that though the government has banned call-back
services, overseas operators are still attempting to penetrate
the Indonesian market.

Call-back service providers offer international calls costing
far less than those approved by the government. They usually
target big multi-national enterprises and hotels as customers.

Clients intending to use call-back services just need to dial
toll-free numbers, give the operator their own number and the
number they want to call, and wait to be called back by the
operator.

The charge is then debited by the operator from a bank account
or credit card.

Satelindo spokesman Eddy Thoyib told the Post that such
practices caused the loss of much foreign exchange.

According to Basuki, call-back service providers are based in
countries offering low long-distance telephone charges.

The government banned both call-back service providers and
users in Indonesia with a ministerial decree signed by Minister
of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave in August 1994.

Director of Post and Telecommunications Djakaria Purawidjaja
said an international telecommunications regulation also bans
such practices.

Telecommunications analysts said that international calls are
still expensive in Indonesia due to the high cost of developing
the necessary infrastructure.

Analysts say that Indonesia's international calls are actually
cheaper than those in many other nations.

"Indonesia's tariffs, for example, are cheaper than those in
Saudi Arabia (by 47 percent), Egypt (43 percent), Japan (28
percent), Singapore (20 percent), Malaysia and India (16
percent)," Basuki said.

However, calls are more expensive than in South Korea (by 39
percent), Canada (38 percent), Sweden (35 percent) and Greece (29
percent).

Phone sex

Basuki also warned the public not to dial telephone numbers
advertised in the local print media as "hot partylines".

The advertisements use Indosat's access code and Sweden's
country code, 46.

"Indosat is not involved in the advertisements but it will
charge Rp 6,180 (US$2.6) per minute for each call," Basuki said.

Indosat recorded at least 5,207 calls to the Swedish numbers,
with telephone traffic charges of Rp 138.69 million in the March-
April period and 8,062 calls worth Rp 242.79 million in the
April-May period.

"There are already some complaints from some customers
claiming that they did not make any calls to Sweden, but we have
the bills. We can't block the numbers because there has been no
request from the government," Basuki said.

Indosat blocked several numbers from Hong Kong and Malaysia a
couple of years ago after members of the House of Representatives
persuaded the government to cut off several phone sex lines in
those countries. (icn)