Telkom Asked to be Transparent about New Tariff
Thursday, 18 January, 2007 | 15:07 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk. (Telkom) has been asked to be more transparent regarding the calculation of the new telephone tariff.

Telkom must explain the telephone charging mechanism from the pulse-based system to minute-based system.

Telecommunication observer Roy Suryo said, previously, one pulse of Rp250 could be used for between 1.5 and 3 minutes.

For 0 to 20 kilometer distance at call time from 3pm to 12am, one pulse can be used for three minutes.

For more than 20 kilometer distance on the same period of time, the tariff is Rp250 per two minutes.

Long-distance calls for less than 30 kilometer distance are the same as the local tariff.

By the new calculation, Telkom will charge Rp250 for the first minute and Rp125 for the following minutes.

According to Roy, this new tariff calculation does not confuse customers.

The reason is, they no longer face cost calculation components which are confusing, such as pulse, duration and distance.

However, Telkom should make a system of cost audit which can be used by each customer.

“Just like cellular phone users,” said Roy.

Under this system, a customer can arrange his or her communication needs more easily.

So far, said Roy, the calculation of telephone cost charge is Telkom's absolute authority.

He is also of the opinion that this calculation system change will be an advantage for consumers.

This is because other Telkom competitors in the fixed line sector will also be pushed to create a more competitive cost structure.

Riky Ferdianto