Indonesian telecoms mull price-fixing appeal

JAKARTA (AFP) — Indonesian telecom firms were mulling appeals Thursday after the competition watchdog found them guilty of price fixing and raking in hundreds of millions of dollars from illegal text message charges.

The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) found six telecommunications companies guilty of collusion and slapped five of them with fines worth some 10 million dollars. [more, afp]

SMS cartel practices cause Rp2.827 tln in losses to consumers

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) said short message service (SMS) cartel practices in the country had caused consumers to suffer a loss of Rp2.827 trillion during the 2004 - April 2008 period.

The KPPU made the statement in its decision on Wednesday over the results of its studies about alleged SMS cartel practices by six cellular phone operators, namely PT Excelcomindo Pratama Tbk (XL), PT Telkomsel, PT Telkom, PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk, PT Mobile-8 Telecom Tbk and PT Smart Telecom. [more, antaranews]

5 Highly Rated Telecom Companies

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If you're looking to invest in foreign telecoms, there are some intriguing opportunities in PT Indosat (NYSE: IIT) and MTN Group. The Indonesian and South African service providers are tops among 65 foreign telecom plays -- for good reasons. [more, TheMotleyFool]

Top Indonesian mobile firm in talks with Qtel

SINGAPORE: Indonesia’s top mobile firm, Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel) said yesterday it was in talks with Qatar Telecom to bring its mobile payments business to the Middle East and expects to exceed its forecast of 15% revenue growth this year.
“For the new business, especially the transaction business, we have our co-operation with Qatar Telecom in the Middle East,” Kiskenda Suriahardja, president director of Telkomsel, said on the sidelines of a regional telecoms award ceremony. [more, gulf-times]

UPDATE 1-Indonesia Telkom shareholders approve share buyback

JAKARTA, June 20 (Reuters) - Shareholders of Indonesia's PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk TLKM.JK on Friday approved a plan to buy back up to 3 trillion rupiah ($323 million) worth of shares within the next 18 months.

The country's largest telecoms firm said last month it planned to buy back shares equivalent to 1.9 percent of its share capital to return excess cash to shareholders and help support the company's share price. [more, reuters]