Thu, 11 Aug 1994

Telkom, firms sign MOU for 42,000 phone lines

JAKARTA (JP): The West Jakarta Chapter of the state-owned telecommunication company, PT Telkom, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) yesterday with 42 private companies for the installation of more than 42,000 new telephone lines over a period of three years.

Under the newly signed MOU, the state-owned company will supply the new telephone lines required for real estate or high rise building projects undertaken by the private companies in the mayoralty.

The 42,204 lines will be built within a three year period for the 25 real estate companies, 16 high rise buildings and one banking firm which signed the MOU.

"This cooperation will greatly help PT Telkom in general and the West Jakarta Telkom Office in particular, in facilitating the government's plan to provide telecommunications services to the public," said Jimmy R. Villanueva, the head of the mayoralty telecommunication office.

Under the plan, at least 9,755 telephone lines are scheduled to be installed this year, 20,245 in 1995 and 12,204 in 1996.

Among the most notable companies signing the MOU are PT Arta Telekomindo for the Sudirman Business District with 3,000 lines, PT Bakrie Investindo for the Bakrie Rasuna Park with 4,538 lines and PT Senayan Trikarsa for Senayan Square with 770 lines.

However, Jimmy Villanueva warned the contractors that they had no right to sell individual telephone lines to their tenants.

"I'd like to see the contractors offer telephone lines as part of a package just like water and electricity when people buy a house or an office," he said.

Duct pipes

Jimmy revealed that in the construction of the telephone lines, the developers contributed various necessary materials such as duct pipes.

PT Intercon Enterprises for example, which is building the Taman Kebon Jeruk housing complex in West Jakarta, is donating the primary and secondary network system for its 1,300 telephone lines.

Some real estate management firms do not want telephone lines to wreck their scenic views so they install underground ducts where Telkom can lay the cables, Jimmy explained.

Speaking further about West Jakarta's telephone service, Jimmy said his office was striving to provide even better public utilities. One of the ways they will do this is by providing offices for phone registration at 12 service points throughout the mayoralty.

"All you need to do is to apply at one of the service offices and we will provide you with service," Jimmy said.

He said that his company would do its best to have an adequate stock of supplies and hoped that by 1997 they would be able to provide every service demanded from all walks of life, not merely the real estate or building sectors alone.

"We can cater to everyone in the West Jakarta area," he said. (mds)