What cellular phones mean to their owners

What cellular phones mean to their owners

JAKARTA (JP): Cellular phones. Some people can't leave home
without this handy equipment, which they see as vital. Not only
does the handphone, as it is best known locally, facilitate
communication, it can also boost a person's image. The Jakarta
Post talked to several handphone owners to find out what this
equipment means to them.

Indriyati Soebandi, marketing manager of Lawry's the Prime Rib
Restaurant in Plaza Senayan, Central Jakarta, always carries her
cellular phone with her.

"As a marketing manager, I travel a lot and I find the
handphone very useful. Even in traffic jams, I can keep in touch
with my business partners," Indri, 28, said.

Initially, she said, she bought her cellular phone because she
believed it would improve her image. Not many people owned one,
she said.

"Now, I always keep my handphone in my bag. Many teenagers
carry their handphones all around ... I don't want to look like
them," Indri said.

However, she admitted that the handphone affects her privacy
because people can call her any time, even at night. "I am
reluctant to turn it off ... who knows, there might be an
important call."

Even though a bit annoyed, she is willing to be understanding
when people receive calls in the middle of meetings. "Maybe it's
important, but I always turn mine off during an important
meeting," Indri said.

She said that once a friend called, saying he wanted to marry
her.

"I turned him down," she said.

Kemal Jufri, a freelance photographer for Asiaweek magazine,
said he enjoyed the benefits of his handphone as he can
communicate with people at any time.

"I can't depend on public telephones, most of them are out of
order," he said, adding that he got a handphone for practical
reasons.

Although he likes the cellular phones, he says there are
drawbacks to using them. He sometimes gets upset when he cannot
reach the number he wants, even though he dials the correct
number and the people being called are in the service area.

"I also feel annoyed when the line is disconnected in the
middle of a conversation," Kemal said.

He said he didn't mind some restrictions imposed on cellular
phone users because he found them understandable. In fact, he
said he appreciated the policy of theaters which require all
viewers to turn off their handphones when they are watching
movies.

"I feel disturbed when a handphone rings in the middle of the
movie... it's just not right," Kemal said.

However, he expressed understanding of people who receive
calls in the middle of meetings. "Maybe the call is expected, or
it's an important call," Kemal said.

Hadi M. Abednego, the Ministry of Health's director general of
communicable disease control and environmental health, needs a
cellular phone because as a high level government official, he
wants to have rapid access to information.

"I have to know everything, including every problem, as soon
as I can," he said.

Hadie never turns off his handphone just in case there is an
important call for him. But his phone never rings in the middle
of a meeting because he turns off the sound and turns on the
vibrator mode.

"I think it's not ethical to let my handphone ring in the
middle of a meeting, especially in the presence of my superiors,"
Hadi said.

He said he did not feel comfortable if he had to take out the
phone during the meeting. "Usually, I excuse myself and answer
the call outside the meeting room," Hadi said.

Nia Sarinastiti, Manager of PT Mercurindo Cita Murni
Communication, says her handphone makes doing her business more
convenient.

"I am badly in need of a handphone since I rarely sit behind
my desk at my office," the 29-year-old American university
graduate says.

She always moves around and she needs the cellular phone to
make business calls.

"When I am at other people's offices, I feel reluctant to ask
for their permission to use the phone," she added.

Nia, who is used to working more than 10 hours a day, says she
benefits a lot from her cellular phone. It is easier to
communicate through a handphone because they are rarely tied up,
as is the case with regular telephone connections.

"For me, the handphone has nothing to do with a symbol of
status. I prefer a handphone to an ordinary phone for practical
reasons. I'm so busy every day that I don't want to waste time by
using conventional phones," she says.

She carries two handphones with her, a private one and a
company-inventory one. But "I turn my private handphone off and
will only use it for emergency calls," she says.

Communicating through cellular phones costs Nia between Rp
150,000 and Rp 200,000 (between US$65 and $86) a month. "It's
relatively cheap because I receive calls more than I make them,"
she said.

For Eddy Martono, a senior account executive of a joint-
venture advertising company, the cellular phone is a confidence
booster in dealing with his clients.

"Wearing a necktie is not enough to show what and who we are.
I always feel more optimistic to win my clients' heart when a
handphone is in my pocket," he says. "I'm doing business with big
companies, you know."

Nearing the age of 40, Eddy looks younger than he is, thanks
to the way he dresses. His neat hair, shining shoes and Tag-
Heuer wristwatch tell much about him. "But to date, such a
gallant appearance is not enough without a handphone," Eddy
argues.

He insists, however, that he has his cellular phone mostly
because it fulfills modern society's need for rapid information.
"I can reach the company's headquarters in Seoul anytime and
anywhere," he says.

The handphone also serves as a new family communication device
for Eddy, a father of two sons. He says he makes calls to his
wife, who works in a private bank, at least three times a day and
to his sons whenever he knows he will get home late.

His family, a seeming stereotype of urban family life, usually
don't see each other until after 7 o'clock in the evening.

He has to pay at least Rp 300,000 (US$129) a month for the
handphone bills.

"That is nothing compared to the benefits I get," Eddy said.
(team)