ESIA sets SMS rate at Rp 1 per character

ESIA has set its SMS rate at Rp 1 per character. This innovative breakthrough is a strategic step and is highly customer-based. Erik Meijer, Deputy President Director of PT Bakrie Telecom, said that SMS rate per character is not part of a promotional program only. The program of SMS rate of Rp 1 per character will also apply to all operators all over Indonesia. Bakrie Telecom has set a target of seven million ESIA subscribers in 2008, up 184 percent over the total of 3.8 million subscribers recorded in 2007. To support the attain-ment of this target, Bakrie Telecom will build 1,000 BTS (base trans-receiver stations) in 2008, in which 80 percent of them are shared BTS units. ESIA and Bakrie Telecom are products whose effectiveness has been proven. Even in a number of major cities like Jakarta and several cities in Banten and West Java, ESIA is superior to other CDMA operators. One of its superior qualities is the fact that ESIA works at 800 MHz, a freguency believed by many experts to be the best frequency in CDMA. (The Jakarta Post, pg 25; Seputar Indonesia, pg 15; Ekonomi Neraca, pg 9; Koran Tempo, pg B8)