Telkom expands phone services in Jakarta

Telkom expands phone services in Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): In a move to improve its services, state-owned telecommunication company PT Telkom has set up eight new telephone exchanges, one outdoor plant maintenance center and four new district offices.

Minister for Administrative Reforms TB Silalahi collectively inaugurated the facilities yesterday at the new telecommunication office in West Jakarta.

The eight new telephone exchanges have a combined capacity of 80,500 lines, of which 13,000 lines have been installed in Ciledug, 6,000 lines in Pasar Kemis, 2,500 in Cikupa and 1,000 in Cipondoh, all in the Tangerang regency, 50,000 lines in Cideng, Central Jakarta, 2,000 in Tanah Kusir, South Jakarta, 3,000 in Gunung Putri, Bogor regency, and 3,000 in Kaliabang, Bekasi regency.

The new maintenance center (OPMC) is designed to detect any disorders in user facilities and can handle any complaints filed by subscribers to PT Telkom.

With the help of the OPMC, phone subscribers can now ask Telkom for details about their phone calls if the amount of their bill is in question.

The four new district offices are located in West, South, North and East Jakarta.

Setyanto P. Santoso, president of Telkom, said that his company will assign a number of brokers to help with marketing.

"We will choose private firms as the brokers to handle the marketing under a production sharing contract," he said without giving details.

Santoso said that the decision to assign the brokers was made because PT Telkom faces difficulties in selling phone lines in several regions throughout Greater Jakarta.

The brokerage system is expected to boost sales overall, he said.

Another way to attract users in a high-capacity but low-demand area like Northern Jakarta is to lend phone lines to subscribers.

The subscribers will receive a new phone line that is only able to receive calls. This system is expected to entice the users to eventually buy the telephone line, Santoso said. (25)