Government delays plan to raise telecom rates
Government delays plan to raise telecom rates
JAKARTA (JP): The government has delayed its plan to increase
the rates for fixed-line and cellular telephone calls by 21
percent and 41 percent respectively.
Director General of Posts and Telecommunications Sasmito
Dirdjo said on Wednesday the new tariffs could not be implemented
in July as previously scheduled because the government had not
had the chance to discuss the matter with legislators.
"The new tariffs can't be implemented this month because we
haven't discussed it with the House, they're very busy. I don't
know when we can meet, but I hope soon after they're done with
the General Session (in August)," he said on the sidelines of an
e-commerce seminar.
The government earlier said it would increase by mid-July the
rates for fixed-line telephone calls by 21 percent to Rp 226 per
three minutes from the current Rp 187 per three minutes.
Meanwhile, the cost of using a cellular phone was to increase
by 41 percent to Rp 475 per minute from the current Rp 325 per
minute.
The government also has plans to further hike the rates for
fixed-line telephone calls by between 15 percent and 18 percent
in 2001 and eight percent in 2002.
The government reviews the rates for fixed-line telephone
calls, which are provided by state-owned listed telecoms company
PT Telkom, every year. It raised Telkom's rates by 15 percent in
February last year.
Telephone tariffs, except those for prepaid-cellular services,
are controlled by the government. A rise in telephone tariffs
should first be consulted with the House before being introduced.
Sasmito acknowledged that some members of the House had
informally expressed their disagreement with the planned tariff
increases.
The government would, however, go ahead with the planned
tariff increases even if they were opposed by the House during
the upcoming consultations.
"We won't change it. The proposed new tariffs have been
discussed with various parties including operators and the
consumers' foundation, it's totally acceptable," he said.
He added that the increase in rates for fixed-line telephone
calls was very important to help Telkom cope with rising
operating costs as well as to make the country's
telecommunications sector more attractive to investors.
"Our telephone rates are among the lowest. With such rates,
it's difficult for Telkom to install the new lines that are
needed by millions of people who still haven't got any access to
telephones," he said.
Telkom currently operates about 6.18 million active telephone
lines across the country, which has a population of over 200
million people.
Sasmito said the increase in telephone rates was also
unavoidable since it was, in fact, among the items agreed with
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Letter of Intent.
According to the agreement with the IMF, Indonesia should have
implemented the new tariff policy in March, he said. "We're way
behind schedule." (cst)
JAKARTA (JP): The government has delayed its plan to increase
the rates for fixed-line and cellular telephone calls by 21
percent and 41 percent respectively.
Director General of Posts and Telecommunications Sasmito
Dirdjo said on Wednesday the new tariffs could not be implemented
in July as previously scheduled because the government had not
had the chance to discuss the matter with legislators.
"The new tariffs can't be implemented this month because we
haven't discussed it with the House, they're very busy. I don't
know when we can meet, but I hope soon after they're done with
the General Session (in August)," he said on the sidelines of an
e-commerce seminar.
The government earlier said it would increase by mid-July the
rates for fixed-line telephone calls by 21 percent to Rp 226 per
three minutes from the current Rp 187 per three minutes.
Meanwhile, the cost of using a cellular phone was to increase
by 41 percent to Rp 475 per minute from the current Rp 325 per
minute.
The government also has plans to further hike the rates for
fixed-line telephone calls by between 15 percent and 18 percent
in 2001 and eight percent in 2002.
The government reviews the rates for fixed-line telephone
calls, which are provided by state-owned listed telecoms company
PT Telkom, every year. It raised Telkom's rates by 15 percent in
February last year.
Telephone tariffs, except those for prepaid-cellular services,
are controlled by the government. A rise in telephone tariffs
should first be consulted with the House before being introduced.
Sasmito acknowledged that some members of the House had
informally expressed their disagreement with the planned tariff
increases.
The government would, however, go ahead with the planned
tariff increases even if they were opposed by the House during
the upcoming consultations.
"We won't change it. The proposed new tariffs have been
discussed with various parties including operators and the
consumers' foundation, it's totally acceptable," he said.
He added that the increase in rates for fixed-line telephone
calls was very important to help Telkom cope with rising
operating costs as well as to make the country's
telecommunications sector more attractive to investors.
"Our telephone rates are among the lowest. With such rates,
it's difficult for Telkom to install the new lines that are
needed by millions of people who still haven't got any access to
telephones," he said.
Telkom currently operates about 6.18 million active telephone
lines across the country, which has a population of over 200
million people.
Sasmito said the increase in telephone rates was also
unavoidable since it was, in fact, among the items agreed with
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Letter of Intent.
According to the agreement with the IMF, Indonesia should have
implemented the new tariff policy in March, he said. "We're way
behind schedule." (cst)