Govt to review cellular phone installation rate
Govt to review cellular phone installation rate
JAKARTA (JP): The government promised yesterday to review the
current tariff for the installation of cellular telephones to
promote the use of such telecommunication devices.
Director General of Post and Telecommunications Djakaria
Purawidjaja said here yesterday that Indonesia aims to increase
the number of cellular telephone subscribers from about 200,000
at present to 600,000 by March 1999.
"I don't know by how much the installation fee will be
lowered, this depends on infrastructure development costs. But
it's not feasible to scrap the fee altogether," he said after
chairing a meeting with operators, distributors and cellular
telecommunications agents in the country at his office here.
The government actually lowered the installation charge for
cellular telephones from Rp 1,000,000 (US$436) to Rp 300,000 in
January.
In comparison, the installation charge for fixed telephone
lines is set at Rp 900,000 for businesses, Rp 700,000 for
households and Rp 560,000 for social institutions.
Djakaria said yesterday that the government does not charge
for installation of lines for public telephones.
The prices of cellular telephone handsets in Indonesia have
decreased substantially after the elimination of a 25-percent
import duty in October, he said. "A distributor has just told me
that an Ericsson product is only Rp 990,000 per unit."
Labeling
In yesterday's meeting Djakaria pointed out that any handset
marketed in Indonesia must be labeled and certified by the
government.
"The labeling is for customer satisfaction because
distributors usually refuse to provide after-sale service for
uncertified handsets," he said, adding that the regulation was
implemented in April this year.
Both distributors and operators acknowledged yesterday that
many people will still be interested in buying uncertified
handsets, whose prices are cheaper than certified ones.
Some executives said yesterday that the regulation must be
enforced strictly.
"Sometimes, operators agree to install new lines for customers
who have uncertified handsets," a director of PT Komselindo, Zen
Smith, said. (icn)