Telkom unveils vandal-beating ploy

Telkom unveils vandal-beating ploy

JAKARTA (JP): Learning that its public payphones have
repeatedly been the target of vandals, the Jakarta office of PT
Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) has decided to install phone
booths in protected areas, an official said on Thursday.

"We'll continue to provide public telephones, but only in
places where there are people responsible for taking care of
them," Telkom Jakarta's external public relation official Asep
Tatang told The Jakarta Post.

"We'll provide free telephone lines to operators of public
areas, such as restaurants and beauty salons, but they have to
provide the telephones themselves."

By doing so, Asep said, the continuation of the service is
ensured because the operators will report cases of malfunction
directly to PT Telkom. They will also look after the facility.

"Many public telephones were damaged because of improper use
or mistreatment," he said.

"We have urged the public to report any damages of telephones
they find. They can call a number listed inside the phone
booths," he said.

Data at Telkom Jakarta shows there were 28,750 units of
multi-coin public telephones in use in the city in 1999, 7,900 of
which were damaged. The office has only been able to repair 6,570
of them.

Most often the damages were found at telephone terminals or in
telephone booths in public areas, some 5,000 units.

Cooperatives

He said that while considering the significant number of
damaged telephones in the capital, Telkom Jakarta had been forced
to find strategies that would enable it to continue its services,
like working together with the cooperatives at subdistrict units.

"We need the cooperatives' help to ensure good treatment for
the telephones in their areas, which include reporting damages
and keeping the telephones clean," he said, adding that the
program had been implemented in 1994.

In return, Asep said, the cooperatives receive 10 percent of
the revenue derived from public telephones in their respective
areas.

Another strategy, initiated in 1996, is to shelter two or more
telephones in a booth near various civil defense posts, which
also serves as a way of monitoring the people using the facility.
(06)