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)