'Wartel' owners object to new policy

JAKARTA (JP): The government's plan to halt the current revenue sharing scheme between state-owned PT Telkom and operators of telecommunications kiosks, locally known as wartel, has received strong objections from businessmen.

Chairman of the Indonesian Wartel Operators Association (APWI) Sriyanto Tjokro Sudarmo even threatened Telkom with calling on all APWI members throughout the country to strike should the government decide to continue with the plan.

According to Sriyanto, the current sharing system between wartel operators and Telkom is unfavorable to the owners of the kiosks.

"The new policy will lead customers to leave their wartel since operators will have to hike charges to customers in a bid simply to survive," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

APWI has some 150,000 members nationwide, including 7,500 in Jakarta.

Director of Telecommunications Development Affairs at the Directorate General of Posts and Telecommunications Eman Sumantri announced on Tuesday that a wartel operator -- under the new scheme -- would be treated the same as other Telkom customers, pay a fixed monthly subscription charge and Rp 184 for every telephone unit used.

Under the current scheme, wartel owners do not have to pay a bill similar to other Telkom customers, such as those who have household accounts.

But Telkom takes 50 percent of revenue of up to Rp 1 million, 60 percent for revenue of between Rp 1 million and Rp 3 million, and 77.5 percent of income more than Rp 3 million.

Several wartel owners interviewed on Wednesday admitted to being stunned by the government's plan. They insisted the idea would give them nothing and only harm their businesses.

A wartel owner on Jl. K.S. Tubun in Central Jakarta, Abdul Kadir, 49, said the proposed scheme would force many operators, particularly small ones, to close down.

"On one side, we have to make our rate as low as possible to attract customers. But on the other side, we still have to pay employees and electricity bills, which are mostly from the use of air-conditioners," Abdul said.

"Wartel owners only get their revenue from marking up the length of a telephone unit," he said.

A wartel owner on Jl. Palmerah Barat in West Jakarta, Evi Herida, 38, said the new policy would only benefit big telecommunications kiosks since they could offer lower rates.

"Consumers will no longer come to small wartel," Evi, who runs a four-booth kiosk, said.

Another businessman, who runs several large wartel in the capital, Widyanto, 35, said he had yet to calculate whether the new policy was more profitable.

"Actually, the current system is preferable for the business," Widyanto said.

"Today, it's unlikely for a wartel to go bankrupt because it's only a matter of time for the business to reach a breakeven point."

Separately, chairwoman of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) Indah Suksmaningsih worried that the planned scheme would burden customers.

"The public will be forced to use wartel applying a higher rate compared to public street phones, because many of the public facilities are out of order," Indah said. (jaw)