Joop urges for cheaper cellular phones

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave ordered domestic telecommunications operators to lower the prices of cellular phones.

"The prices of cellular phones here are still high in this era of competition. I think the prices of cellular phone should be lowered," Joop said when delivering a speech at the launching of a book entitled Dari Monopoli ke Kompetisi (From Monopoly to Competition) at the Shangri-La Hotel on Wednesday night.

The book, compiled by Ramadhan K.H., Sugiarta Sriwibawa and Abrar Yusra, was launched to commemorate Telkom's 50th anniversary next year.

Joop said PT Satelindo, a private firm which operates satellites and mobile communications, currently offers outstation phones for at least Rp 3.95 million each.

Joop said he has appointed Telkom to establish a new firm with PT Indosat, the state-owned international telecommunication operator, to provide cellular mobile telephones using the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).

The plan for the establishment of the proposed firm, to be called PT Telkomsel, was finalized early last month and is currently being legalized.

The planned firm's GSM phones will cover Jakarta and Surabaya in East Java as the two cities are business centers, Joop said.

He also said that in the coming years the company will be licensed to operate nationally.

Telkom's president, Setyanto P. Santosa, said that Telkomsel will be set up with an investment of Rp 131.1 billion, which will be increased to Rp 800 billion by the year 2000.

Demand for digital cellular telephones in the country is expected to be about 600,000 lines in the coming five years, he said.

Besides Satelindo in the Jakarta greater area, Telkom also operates GSM telephones on Batam island, Riau, which currently serves some 40,000 subscribers in Riau and its surrounding areas.(icn)