Government to introduce new telephone charges

JAKARTA (JP): The government will introduce new tariff arrangements for long distance telephone calls and installation and will provide incentives for new subscribers throughout the country, Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave said yesterday.

"The new tariff structure for long distance calls will be based on three zones instead of the five zones currently applied by Telkom," Joop said in a hearing with the House of Representatives.

The state-owned domestic telecommunications firm PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) currently divides Indonesia into five telecommunications zones based on distance. Long distance calls depend on duration and distance which ranges between 25 kilometers to 1,000 kilometers. Calls within zone V, covering 1,000 kilometers or more, are subject to the highest rates.

He said that the new tariff arrangements will classify charges into business, housing and social categories.

"The hours for discounted long distance calls will be extended so that business people and the public will have more choices when making long distance calls," he said.

But he declined to elaborate and said that technical details will be announced by PT Telkom.

Secretary General of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications, Jonathan Parapak added that the new tariff structure will not only be determined by distances.

"Distance is no longer the main factor in setting long distance call charges." Parapak said.

He said that the new tariff structure will be designed to accelerate development in the eastern parts of the country.

"Consultants from the World Bank have concluded that long distance telephone call tariffs in Indonesia are the cheapest within the Southeast Asian nations after Singapore," he said.

Parapak also said that telephone line installation fees will decrease by 30 percent, depending on whether the subscribers are from business, social institutions (such as foundations and orphanages) or homes.

Currently, subscribers in Jakarta and Surabaya (East Java) pay Rp 1.01 million for the installation of one telephone line. Telkom set cheaper tariffs for smaller cities.

According to Parapak, the new tariffs, both for long distance calls and installation, are expected to be effective as soon as possible, saying only, "we hope the new tariff will be introduced next month." (icn)