Telkom adjusts discount phone call periods

Telkom adjusts discount phone call periods

JAKARTA (JP): The state-owned domestic telecommunications
provider, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), is changing the
times of its discount calling periods.

Telkom's director for operations and marketing, Dadad Kustiwa,
said yesterday that the period offering a 75 percent discount on
long distance calls will be changed from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. to
11 p.m. until 8 a.m.

"Telkom's plan to shift the periods for tariff discounts will
be subject to the government's approval," he said.

Besides the 75-percent discount, Telkom also offers a discount
of 50 percent on long distance calls between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Telkom charges 25 percent more than the normal rate for long
distance calls made between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Long distance calls between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and between 3
p.m. and 6 p.m. are subject to its normal tariff rate.

"The demand for long distance calls after 9 p.m. is very high
and has surpassed the capacity of Telkom's network facilities,"
Dadad said.

He said that the government is expected to give its approval
for the new arrangement before the end of this year.

Meanwhile, another company director, John Welly, said that the
firm is evaluating the inventories of its subsidiaries to keep
the company's shares solid.

Telkom floated 19 percent of its 9.33 billion shares on the
New York, London, Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges in
November 1995. The company raised Rp 2.3 trillion (US$1 billion)
from the domestic offering and $519.1 million from the overseas
offering. From the funds raised domestically, only Rp 1.85
trillion went to Telkom, while the remainder as well as the funds
raised from the overseas offering were turned over to the
government.

The company plans to use 40 percent of the share offering
proceeds to finance capacity expansion, 40 percent for quality
enhancement and 20 percent for business development.

Telkom recently sold a number of its shares in PT Ratelindo, a
fixed cellular telecommunications operator, to PT Bakrie
Electronics Company, the other shareholder in Ratelindo. Bakrie
paid Rp 100 billion for the additional equity to increase its
stake from 55 percent to 87 percent.

Apart from Ratelindo, Telkom currently has dozens of
subsidiaries including the digital mobile cellular
telecommunications providers PT Telkomsel (with 42.7 percent of
all shares) and PT Satelindo (22.5 percent), satellite providers
PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (20 percent), telecommunications
maintaining provider PT Bangtelindo (15 percent) and data
communications operator PT Aplikanusa Lintasartha (25 percent).

The other subsidiaries are the analog mobile cellular
telecommunications carriers PT Komselindo (35 percent), PT
Mobilsel (25 percent), PT Metrosel (20 percent) and PT
Telekomindo Primabhakti (10 percent). Telkom also controls a
number of stakes in refinery satellite operator PT Patrakomindo
(30 percent) and the yellow-page publisher PT Infomedia Nusantara
(15 percent).

The Batam-based PT Batam Bintan Telekomunikasi, set up in
June, is its most recently established firm, partly owned by
Telkom. Batam Bintan, 5 percent owned by Telkom, is controlled by
PT Batamindo Investment Corporation. (icn)