Starko provides free city info

JAKARTA (JP): PT Motorollain Corporation, operator of the Starko radio beeper service in Indonesia, introduced its latest free-of-charge service on Wednesday; transmitting brief advice on the latest situation in Greater Jakarta (Jabotabek) to its local customers.

The prime information on the first day of the service was received by Starko pager holders at 1:18 p.m. It read: "Info Starko: A student brawl is taking place under the Jatinegara flyover."

About 30 minutes later, the operator radioed about another student brawl at the Tanah Abang bridge intersection.

A student rally around Merdeka Palace was reported at 2:48 p.m., about half an hour after it began, and another student protest in front of the Attorney General's Office was transmitted at 3:26 p.m.

"It's just part of our service to our customers. We'll soon launch another free information service on, for example, the U.S. dollar rate," Starko customer relations staffer Intan told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

She said the news on Info Jabotabek was gathered from "various reliable sources" and Starko crew on the streets.

"We cooperate with no other parties. It's an internal project," Intan said, adding that all information from other sources would never be transmitted before Starko staff had made on-the-spot checks.

Starko pagers using the nationwide service package would not be able to receive the Info Jabotabek information, she said. (bsr)