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)