Telegram service to discontinue

SURABAYA: The East Java Regional Division of state telecommunications company Telkom plans to terminate its telegram service due to lack of demand.

Spokesman for the division Djadi Soegiarto said on Friday the plan has been discussed seriously, with a decision to discontinue the service expected to be made sometime this year.

Only people living in remote villages are using the service, in relatively small numbers, thanks to widespread telecommunications kiosks and the use of private telephones, according to Djadi.

Citing an example, he said the branch office in Lamongan delivered fewer than 20 telegrams per month recently, down from 30 in the previous period.

Djadi said the telegram service was also uneconomic, because the cost of delivering a telegram to the designated address was higher than the use of the technology itself. "It no longer makes a profit," he added. -- Antara