Telephone tariffs to rise by 21.67% in June

JAKARTA (JP): After being delayed for more than a year, the government finally got approval from the House of Representatives on Friday to raise telephone tariffs by 21.67 percent in June.

Minister of Communications Agum Gumelar said that the increase would be part of the government's plan to raise telephone charges by 45.49 percent over three years.

"We will need time to communicate the tariff hike to the public first but, yes, it will probably be in June," Agum said after a hearing with the House's Commission IV for infrastructure and transportation.

At the hearing, Commission IV formally presented its letter of approval to the minister, saying that the House understood the urgent need to raise the tariffs.

The commission's vice chairman, Rosyid Hidayat, said that the House recognized the need for the hike as a determining factor in attracting investment in the telecommunication sector.

"(It is also needed) to meet the construction and maintenance costs of telecommunications infrastructure," he said.

In addition to approving a fixed-line tariff rise, the House also approved an increase to post-paid cellular phone charges.

Rosyid said the House approved an increase of the air time tariff to Rp 375 a minute, up from the existing Rp 325 per minute.

The tariff of the pre-paid cellular service is not regulated by the government.

The Ministry of Commucations proposed in May last year a gradual increase of fixed-line tariffs by up to 45.49 percent over three years -- 21.67 percent in 2001, 15.60 percent in 2002 and 8.22 percent in 2003.

House members have since been evaluating the proposal, a process which has involved considering the opinions of telecommunication experts, scholars, telecommunication organizations and the Indonesian Consumers Society (YLKI).

Director General of Post and Telecommunication Djamhari Sirat said the tariff increase for local and long distance calls would vary, but the average increase would be 21.67 percent.

"There will be a rebalancing. It doesn't mean that all calls will be increased by 21.67 percent," he said.

The House also set down conditions to be fulfilled by the government, including that the government should take concrete steps toward a restructuring of the telecommunications industry.

They also stipulated a requirement for the immediate issuance of various regulations, including a regulation relating to the telecommunication tariff formula, Rosyid said.

The House also asserted the need for state-owned telecommunication company PT Telkom to quickly finalize the drawn-out disputes with its five joint operation scheme (KSO) partners so that construction of telecommunication lines in their operative regions could be resumed.

"Of course, we will have to study the House's conditions carefully, and we will try to abide by them. We will do it as we go along," Agum said.

He said the government promised to push for the improvement of telecommunication services to the public as compensation for higher tariffs.

Djamhari said that Telkom is currently developing a cheaper alternative for long distance telecommunication such as with voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).

Telkom is also working on a program to increase coverage in rural areas, a component of which would see the opening of more telecommunication kiosks in remote locations he said, adding that the company is also offering up to 75 percent discounts at certain times. (tnt)