Govt to build phone lines worth Rp 400b from USO

Govt to build phone lines worth Rp 400b from USO

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

With about 40,000 villages nationwide still without access to
telecommunication, the government is aiming to build more
telephone lines in remote areas using the Rp 400 billion
(US$41.91 million) universal service obligation (USO) fund.

State Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan A.
Djalil said on the sidelines of the e-Indonesia Initiatives (eII)
2005 national conference on information and communications
technology at the Bandung Institute of Technology earlier this
week that his ministry had targeted all villages would have
telecommunication access within the next 10 years.

"Assuming that telecommunication firms' gross revenue this
year reaches Rp 50 trillion, we will have Rp 400 billion for the
provision of the phone lines," he said.

The government launched the USO program in 2003, planning to
install telephone lines in 43,000 villages using various types of
technology, such as satellite, radio, cellular and Internet
protocol, depending on the local geography.

The USO is a two-phase program: In phase one, running from
2003 to 2010, the government must provide each village with at
least one fixed line; in phase two, it must develop more
supporting facilities.

To finance those projects, the government obliged
telecommunication operators to set aside 0.75 percent of their
annual revenue toward the program.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono -- in his video-conference
opening speech broadcast to 11 country members of the School of
the Internet: Bangladesh, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia,
Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam
-- said, "Information technology is needed by the people. ICT
(information communication technology) can also serve as a tool
to curb corruption, as I can check the dividends of state
enterprises or the state revenue from taxes."

"But the ICT is currently centered in urban areas. To speed up
access to telecommunication in rural areas, the government has to
provide the infrastructure," he added.

The President said the USO program would also be developed to
provide telephone lines for all citizens.

Sofyan said the government would evaluate the use of satellite
telephones in villages because they are costly.

"We are studying (the possibility of) providing cheaper
communication technology, which would cost Rp 200 million per set
of equipment. With more affordable prices, we could provide the
public with more devices," he said.