Telephone sale postponed

Telephone sale postponed

The South Jakarta Telecommunications Office has stopped the
sale activities of new telephone lines after its first-day
campaign turned into a traffic snarl yesterday.

The office said in an announcement yesterday that the number
of people who came to apply for new telephone connections at the
sales office in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, was beyond
expectation.

The Jakarta Post estimated that by 9:30 a.m. more than one
thousand people had arrived, mostly by car, to queue up to apply.
The crowd caused serious traffic congestion around the Lebak
Bulus area.

Most people complained that they had been confused by the
announcement concerning the system of distribution by the
Telecommunication office.

Meanwhile the head of the Fourth Telecommunication Area, John
Willy, whose jurisdiction includes Jakarta, announced yesterday
that the sale activities were postponed until further notice.

Willy said he will announce the reopening and new method of
applying at a later date. He said that only people whose
residential area has been connected by telephone lines will be
served.

Willy apologized to the public for the inconvenience caused.
"We failed to foresee such a huge number of people who would come
to apply for telephone connections," he said. (tis)