Mitra-solusindo.com, JAKARTA - The Attorney General’s Office is investigating allegations of broadband frequency abuse involving Indosat, one of the country’s largest cellular communication providers.
A group called the Indonesian Telecommunication Consumer (KTI) had previously alleged that Indosat caused Rp 3.8 trillion ($418 million) in lost tax revenue after giving the broadband frequency it had secured from the government to a subsidiary, Indosat Mega Media (IM2), in 2007.
It said that IM2 should have secured its own broadband frequency from the government.
The scheme, the group said, resulted in discrepancies in the telecommunication service usage tax because the tax rate for a public company like Indosat is different from the rate for IM2, a private company.
Head of public relations for Indosat, Djarot Handoko, said on Friday that “IM2’s 3G broadband Internet service complied with existing laws and regulations.” He added that the transfer was part of Indosat’s business strategy.
“IM2 will be focused on the small- and medium-enterprise segment,” he said.
The consumer group first reported the case to the West Java Prosecutor’s Office, but the deputy attorney general for special crimes, Andhi Nirwanto, said that the AGO had taken over the investigation.
“The scene of the crime is not limited to West Java,” Andhi said on Friday.
“If it were handled by the West Java office then they could only investigate crimes in West Java. The AGO has a much larger jurisdiction, encompassing the whole country.”
He said the AGO’s investigation was ongoing and that no one had been charged.
“We are still investigating the case and next week we will have a joint division meeting to determine the next step,” he said.
With more than 40 million subscribers, Indosat is the third largest mobile phone operator in Indonesia, trailing Telkomsel and XL Axiata.
Indosat spun off its Internet and multimedia division in 2000 and renamed it IM2, which now deals with both fiber optic-based Internet and wireless broadband connections.
Editor : Rangga Prakoso
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