Miscommunication?
As long as we are in the spirit of revamping the Cabinet, President Abdurrahman Wahid should probably rename the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication to the Ministry of Transportation and Miscommunication. The way this ministry has handled the increase in telephone rates for fixed lines is a travesty in the art of communication that borders on deception.
The government, i.e. the ministry, obtained last month the approval of the House of Representatives to increase phone rates in several phases, overall by nearly 46 percent during the next three years. The House has, in good faith, virtually given the government a blank check to determine how and when to implement these planned hikes.
With that license from the House, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, or Telkom as the state monopoly that operates domestic fixed-line telephone services is popularly known, announced its plan to raise telephone rates by "an average of 21.67 percent", starting Sunday. Publicly listed Telkom, however, is not only guilty of giving short notice to the public, but now, it may also be guilty of attempting to deceive the public.
The 21.67 percent average figure conceals the fact that in some instances, as pointed out by some telecommunications experts, the cost of a phone call could increase by as much as 3,000 percent. Telkom's complex pricing formula should not have made it impossible for any member of the public to actually come to an "average figure" without being misled. Intentionally or not, that is precisely what Telkom has done.
It would be better for Telkom to be honest next time by giving the range of the increases, instead of a single average figure. And it would even be better for Telkom to give the public ample time to digest the true impact of the increase.
Concealed from Telkom's announcement, for example, was its plan to reduce the airtime per pulse, which, according to one calculation, would mean an overall increase of 168 percent to the cost of a telephone call.
One is reminded of a new marketing tool used effectively by some producers of consumer goods, that is to reduce the amount or volume in a packet as a subtle means to pass higher costs on to buyers. Manufacturers of instant noodles, cigarettes, matches among others, have recently found this method effective. This practice, while deceptive, is legal as long as the manufacturers state the amount or the content of their products on their packaging. But then, few people bother to read the packet.
A telephone service, however, is not a product that comes in a package that provides details of what customers are getting for their money. In the majority of cases, telephone users get billed at the end of the month. Changes in the pricing formula, including the airtime per pulse, therefore, should be communicated to the public beforehand.
The way this affair has been handled by Telkom and the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications has raised the questions of ethics. The way the proposal was hurriedly presented to the public, and the little time given to the public, including in this case the House, is a strong indication of an attempt at deception.
Telkom and the government have abused the trust that the House of Representatives has given them to increase telephone rates over a three-year period. Even assuming that the government heeds the demands to postpone the increase in view of the current controversy, it is hard to envisage the House giving that trust to the government and Telkom again.