Government set to ban controversial chat lines
Government set to ban controversial chat lines
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Tourism, Post and
Telecommunications is ready to block chat line services and deal
firmly with local agents of callback services, a senior official
said yesterday.
Director General of Post and Telecommunications Djakaria
Purawidjaja said his office is technically able and ready to
block chat lines, a "friendship" telecommunications service
provided by overseas operators which has sparked controversy in
Indonesia.
"But we are still waiting for directions from authorities in
charge of supervising broadcasting and telecommunications
contents. The post and telecommunications office deals only with
infrastructure," he said.
He said the related authorities include the Supreme Court, the
Ministry of Justice, the Attorney General and the National
Police.
Chat line service agents have aggressively promoted their
products through electronic and print media, claiming the state-
owned PT Indosat and privately owned PT Satelindo, both
international telecommunications providers, also supported the
services.
The two firms have denied the claim and have called on the
media to drop advertisements which look like phone sex services.
But the chat line business is still being widely advertised.
Chat line services are being run by several operators, most of
them located overseas in Hong Kong, Sweden, Malaysia, Hawaii and
other nations.
The Indonesian Consumers Protection Agency expressed concern
that children are curious and can become addicted to the service,
creating hefty telephone bills for some parents.
Indosat and Satelindo agreed the chat line service being run
by overseas firms was a major headache for the international call
business.
People interested in joining the service are required to dial
001 or 008, the respective international access codes for Indosat
and Satelindo. Tariffs are based on international call charges.
An international call to Malaysia, for instance, costs Rp
2,900 (US$1) per six seconds.
Meanwhile, an Indosat executive Bambang Sulistyo and Janto
Waryanto of Satelindo said yesterday their companies suffered Rp
6.6 billion (US$2.2 million) in lost business opportunities in
the January-September period this year due to illegal callback
services.
The companies said such practices would reduce state revenue
because callback service providers are based in foreign
countries, targeting customers in Indonesia.
A decree signed by the Minister of Tourism, Post and
Telecommunications Joop Ave in August 1994 banned callback
service providers and users in Indonesia.
Djakaria said an international telecommunications regulation
also banned such practices but overseas operators are still
attempting to penetrate the Indonesian market.
"There are always customers for callback services as they
often offer cheaper charges," Djakaria said.
Callback service providers offer international calls with
tariffs far lower than those set by the government. They usually
target multinational enterprises and major local companies as
well as individuals and customers.
Clients intending to use callback services just need to dial
toll-free numbers, give the operator their number and the number
they want to call and wait for the operator to return their call.
The charge is then debited by the operator from a bank account or
credit card. (icn)