New phone exchanges

JAKARTA (JP): State telecommunications company PT Telkom will soon open two new automatic telephone exchanges in Sukatani and Terumajaya districts in Bekasi to replace the current rural radio technology facilities.

"There are currently 317 customers in the two districts who are served using the old technology," Mulyanto, the head of Telkom's Bekasi office, said on Monday.

He said the replacement of the old facilities was necessary because they provided a relatively poor sound quality and a limited number of telephone lines.

"The opening of the two new facilities is expected to help facilitate communication and economic development," Mulyanto was quoted by Antara as having said.

The new telephone exchange in Sukatani is designed to have a capacity of 5,000 lines, while in Terumajaya 3,000 lines will be made available, he said, adding that there are currently 38 telephone exchanges in Bekasi serving 186,943 customers. (hhr)