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)