Satelindo lifts roaming charges

JAKARTA (JP): Cellular phone operator PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo) said on Wednesday that its subscribers would no longer be required to pay roaming charges when receiving calls at home.

Vice president of Satelindo's cellular services for marketing and product management Tien Tinh Pham said the incentive (starting in June) would only be enjoyed by its Mentari prepaid subscribers.

"Many of our customers turn off their cell phones when traveling outside their home base because of the high roaming charges. Now they don't have to," he said in a media conference.

Furthermore, Mentari subscribers have the opportunity to save up to 62 percent when calling long distance to other Mentari and Satelindo GSM subscribers.

"No matter where the domestic destination lies ... long distance calls that used to cost from Rp 2,970 (about 0.3 U.S. cents) to Rp 3,900 per minute will only cost Rp 1,499 per minute," Pham said.

With the new rates, Satelindo hopes to attract more customers and reach its 2001 target of 1.7 million subscribers, compared to the 1.4 million customers it had last year, he said. (tnt)