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.