“The ministerial regulation for this could be issued in June. However, it is a process. As the regulation will be set for the public, I have to go through a public consultation phase first,” Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara said in Jakarta on Friday.

The interconnection fee is paid from one operator to a different operator when the latter is the call destination for a cell phone user. Currently, the interconnection fee is Rp 250 (2 US cents) per minute, which the government plans to cut by 20 percent.

Rudiantara added that the rate cut would mostly come from the termination cost, a fee charged to the call receiver. Meanwhile, the price ratio of off-net calls (calls to a different operator) to on-net calls (call to the same operator) will also be decreased.

“Currently, there are off-net call fees that are six, eight or even 10 times higher than on-net call fees. […] For instance, if I call someone using the same operator, I will be charged Rp 1,000. However, if I call another person with a different operator, I could be charged Rp 6,000 or even Rp 8,000. Later [callers] will not be charged more than Rp 2,500,” Rudiantara said.

The minister hoped the new regulation would increase efficiency, saying people should not have to own multiple SIM cards to get lower call fees through on-net calls. Currently, there are at least 300 million active SIM cards in use, although there are only 170 million individual users, Rudiantara said.

The Indonesian Telecommunications Regulatory Body (BRTI) will monitor the implementation of the new regulation by cellular operators to ensure that all firms cut call fees and to prevent them from creating unfair competition. (vps)

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