Govt raises local-call charges
Govt raises local-call charges
JAKARTA (JP): The cost of local telephone calls will rise 4.54 percent tomorrow but it will be cheaper to phone long distance or 209 other countries.
Secretary-General of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Jonathan L. Parapak told a press conference yesterday that the state-owned telecommunications provider PT Telkom would raise local phone charges from Rp 110 (US$0.04) to Rp 115 a pulse (every 1.5, two or three minutes, depending on distances and time periods).
"However, long-distance call charges will be reduced by 1.82 percent from Rp 110 to Rp 108 a pulse, and international-call rates to 209 nations will also be reduced," Parapak said.
But charges on international calls to 22 other countries would rise because of the rupiah's depreciation against the U.S. dollar, he said.
Long-distance calls cost between Rp 110 and Rp 2,062.5 a minute depending on zone divisions and time periods.
Parapak said that air-time charges for cellular telecommunications services would also be reduced by 1.82 percent, from Rp 275 to Rp 270 a minute.
Telephone installation fees, he said, would be reduced by between 5 percent and 28.13 percent.
Installation fees for business subscribers, which now range from Rp 200,000 to Rp 900,000 depending on the location, will be cut by a range of 5 percent to 11.2 percent.
Installation fees for households, which now vary from Rp 100,000 to Rp 700,000, will be cut by a range of 15 percent to 17.5 percent.
The installation fees for subscribers with social missions, which now range from Rp 80,000 to Rp 560,000, will be cut by a range of 25 percent to 28.13 percent.
Parapak recalled Telkom's statement in its prospectus for its initial public offering in October last year which said that it would review tariffs every year.
"There are two factors considered when setting the maximum tariff adjustment (price cap) each year: The inflation rate minus the X factor. The X factor is decided by the government.
"Because the inflation rate for 1996 was 8.64 percent (similar to 1995's inflation) and the X factor is 6, the maximum adjustment rate for telecommunications charges in 1997 is 2.64 percent," he said.
Only last month, the government pledged not to raise local, long-distance or cellular call charges.
The Indonesian Consumers Foundation has strongly objected to the 4.54 percent increase in local-call charges.
"I don't understand why this raise should be made. The government raised charges at the expense of the general public without any consultation with the House of Representatives," the foundation's executive chairwoman, Tini Hadad, told The Jakarta Post.
She said it was unclear why tariffs for local calls had increased.
"This is also unexpected. The government or Telkom should have given a transition period for the introduction of higher tariffs," she said.
She said that, since Telkom had gained handsome profits with the existing local-call tariffs, it should not have increased them.
"I'm sure there are many families who pay Telkom more than Rp 500,000 in monthly telephone bills. Hence, even household subscribers do not need any subsidies," Mrs. Hadad said.
She also criticized the lack of transparency with which the tariffs were determined.
Telkom said the number of telephone lines in service increased this year by 36.27 percent to 2.13 million lines in Greater Jakarta and East Java. The number of installed telephone lines in other areas increased 26.79 percent to 1.79 million.
Telkom said its number of subscribers increased 32.18 percent to 3.79 million.
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, Telkom president Asman A. Nasution and Indosat president Tjahjono Soerjodibroto said the adjustment of telephone tariffs would not affect the financial soundness of Indosat and Telkom next year.
"It's negligible," Joop said. (icn)