Phone tariff hike opposed

Phone tariff hike opposed

JAKARTA (Antara): Members of the House of Representatives have
opposed the government's move to raise local telephone call
charges by 4.54 percent starting Jan. 1, 1997.

Legislators said Tuesday PT Telkom, the state-owned domestic
telecommunications company, should improve its services before
demanding an increase in charges.

Members of the House Commission V on communication, Ali Marwan
Hanan and Marsinggih Marnadi, said a hike, however small, would
be a burden for people while there was no guarantee services
would improve.

Hanan hoped the government would refrain from making
"unpopular" decisions, especially those affecting people in the
lower-income bracket.

He said there was no need to increase charges at this point
because Indonesia's domestic telecommunications tariff was
already higher than those of other countries.

Secretary-general of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and
Telecommunications, Jonathan L. Parapak, said PT Telkom, which is
under the auspices of his ministry, proposed to raise local
telephone call charges from Rp 110 to Rp 115 per pulse starting
Jan. 1.

"However, we also proposed that charges for long distance
calls be reduced by 1.82 percent from Rp 110 to Rp 108 per pulse.
We also plan to reduce overseas call charges to 209 nations," he
said.

Marnadi said it was not timely to raise the charges because PT
Telkom had failed to meet some of its targets, like improving its
services and reducing the rate of unsuccessful calls.

Both Hanan and Marnadi expressed disappointment they were not
consulted prior to the announcement of the plan.

"The government should not just expect us to justify its
decisions," they said, adding that legislators must be consulted
because they represent the public.