Roaming fees canceled

JAKARTA (JP): Cellular operator PT Excelcomindo Pratama canceled on Tuesday the implementation of roaming fees for its prepaid services after receiving many objections from customers, a senior executive said.

Excelcom's general manager for marketing, A. Putranto, said that after announcing the imposition of roaming fees in April, the company had received many protests from customers who demanded continued free-roaming services.

"Also looking at the macroeconomic condition of the country and of the cellular industry itself, we consider it wise to stop implementing the roaming fees," he said at a media conference here.

A roaming fee is usually charged for calls made or received from outside the home area of the subscriber identity module (SIM) card.

Putranto explained that the company maintained its "Xtra large zone" tariff structure introduced in April. Under the new tariff structure, for instance, Jakarta users are charged local call rates for calls to Bogor. Normally, they are charged long distance rates. (tnt)