Telecommunications executives wary of Telkomsel's plan
JAKARTA (JP): Telecommunications executives are wary of PT Telkomsel's plan to attract more cellular telephone subscribers by allowing them to buy any handset sold by their agents or other distributors.
"Indonesia may become a technology garbage dump, unbranded cellular handsets will likely penetrate the country's telecommunications industry," chairman of the Indonesian Association of Domestic Telecommunications Firms, Rahardjo Tjakranigrat, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
Telkomsel, the new operator of the global system for mobile communications (GSM), introduced a new marketing strategy which allows subscribers to use any GSM handset. Although introduced in Medan, North Sumatra, the marketing maneuver will be applied nationwide.
A manager at PT Philips Development Corporation, Simon Rikoemahoe, said that such a strategy will cause problems for people who bought Philips handsets outside Indonesia as they can not go to his company, the sole Indonesian distributor of Philips, for any administration service.
Telkomsel's operations director, Garuda Sugardo, said the company's business is charging for telephone calls and selling subscriber identity module (SIM) cards.
"We are not dealing with the sales of handsets, but we recommend people buy selected brands from local agents which offer after-sales service."
The marketing strategy introduced by Telkomsel was described by Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave as good for the public because it will allows a wider range of handset prices.
GSM is a digital cellular mobile telecommunications technology which allows subscribers to use any handset if they have been issued a SIM card. Users just plug their SIM card into the handset to make calls.
PT Satelindo, also a GSM operator, has six handset suppliers. The company puts an international module equipment identity (IMEI) set in all handsets sold in Indonesia. SIM cards issued by Satelindo do not work in unlisted handsets.
Smuggling
Rahardjo said that he was worried that Telkomsel's marketing strategy might encourage an increase in the smuggling of handsets into Indonesia.
"Handset prices are still costly in Indonesia. When Telkomsel sets the strategy, some people will look for cheaper ones overseas and smuggle them into the country," he said.
According to Garuda, the prices of cellular telephone handsets in Indonesia are 144.74 percent higher than those in other countries due to the imposition of several taxes and duties.
A GSM handset distributor in Medan, PT Bahagia Pratama, which is also a Satelindo distributor in Jakarta, sells several GSM telephones at different prices in the two cities. For instance, a Motorola 8200, which costs about Rp 1.3 million (US$576) in Singapore, sells for Rp 4.18 million ($1,854) in Medan and Rp 4.95 million ($2,196) in Jakarta. (icn)