How much longer can beeper operators go?
JAKARTA (JP): The recent breakthrough of three local GSM operators in introducing a joint SMS service have undoubtedly boosted message sending via cellular phones in the country.
But one party is left behind: radio paging operators.
Many firmly believe that beeper operators will soon close their doors following the latest lethal attack by GSM operators.
Operators of radio paging, or beepers, a one-way communications tool, which can only receive written messages, have indeed faced various challenges in maintaining their subscribers due to, among other things, the inferior image suffered by beepers after the launch of cellular phones in Indonesia.
With the latest attack, many say any service offered by beeper operators will not be able to lure new customers or even halt old ones from leaving.
But surviving beeper operators quickly dismiss such skepticism. According to them, beepers still has some advantages over cellular phones in sending messages.
Silvester Winarto of PT Duta Pertiwi Santosa, which operates Starpage, doubted that all GSM users would want to use the joint SMS facility which was introduced last week.
"There are about three million GSM users (out of some 4.2 cellular phone users) in Indonesia. I don't think all of them are interested in using SMS as they have to type in each character.
"It takes time. It's easier in the radio paging service where an operator is called to send a message.
"In addition, radio pagers and GSM operators have different markets, so we are optimistic that we will survive," he said.
He said his company offered free information as a value-added service to its subscribers.
"This includes information on foreign exchange, traffic, signs of the zodiac, short news, and movies showing at cinemas. It's free," he said.
He said there were currently about 55,000 people subscribing to Starpage.
He admitted the number was now stable after a significant drop three or four years ago due to the popularity of cellular phones.
Agreeing with Silvester, Nanang Wahyudiono of Starko said since beepers and cellular phones were different products, they should not be compared.
Starko, run by PT Motorollain Corporation, which is the country's leading beeper operator, began its business in 1976.
"There's been a significant drop, but traffic remains high," he said, adding that some 1.2 million messages are sent per month.
He said the joint SMS facility introduced by the GSM providers was the result of development in information technology, therefore nobody could stop it.
"The radio paging operators will strongly object if GSM providers provide personal operators in their SMS service because it is aimed for individual usage, not via operators," he said.
The public may have considered beepers less fashionable than mobile phones as the former is only a one-way telecommunications tool.
Beeper operators have launched various services to maintain existing users. Among the services is a facility which allows Internet users to send direct messages to beeper users in Indonesia without going through the pager operator.
Although cellular phones dominate the telecommunications market in Indonesia, beepers will likely remain as a complementary option.
-- I. Christianto