RI to set up independent telecom body

RI to set up independent telecom body

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government will set up an independent body to regulate the
country's telecommunications industry by the end of April, a
senior official said on Wednesday.

Director General for Post and Telecommunications Affairs
Djamhari Sirat told reporters the creation of the Independent
Regulatory Body (IRB) was in accordance with a government plan to
liberalize the telecommunications sector.

"The body's task includes regulating the adjustment of local
phone tariffs," he was quoted by Dow Jones as saying.

He said the establishment of the body would pave the way for
the government to raise call charges.

The government proposed phone charge increases of an average
35 percent in January, but delayed the hike due to strong
protests from the public.

Members of the public said the hike was unacceptable because
the government had yet to create the body, adding that the House
had set the creation of the body as a precondition for the phone
charges hike.

Experts, as well as international organizations such as the
World Bank, have pushed the government to create the body, saying
the body was crucial to ensure fair competition in the country's
telecoms industry and to protect consumers.

Telecommunications Law No. 36/1999 calls for the creation of
the body. But the government, which now holds the regulatory
function, said many times that establishment of the body was not
urgent.