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)