K+ begins competitive drive

On March 6, K+ announced strategic renovations to improve customer experience and options.

The innovative change included reorganising its three current packages, simplifying its subscription fee system and lower equipment prices, applicable nationwide as of March 8.

Accordingly, the previous three subscription packages including Access+, Premium+, and HD+ have been reorganised into two new packages – Access+ and Premium HD+.

The Access+ package consists of 70 channels, including 9 new premium additions such as HBO, Animal Planet, Discovery and Fashion TV.

The Premium HD+ package has 84 channels though those who use SD encoders will only get 74 channels. Others will get the full package.

Also changed is the subscription fee for the packages which now will remain consistent throughout the duration of the contract.

Access+ will go for VND85,000 ($4)/month and Premium HD+ for VND220,000 ($10)/month regardless of contract duration.

Equipment prices will go down to VND990,000 ($47) for an SD equipment set and VND1,800,000 ($86) for an HD set. Down from the previous levels of VND1.5 million and VND2 million.

The move is expected by industry insiders to fuel competition between service providers, primarily through the competitive pricing.

Prior to K+’s move, general director of military-run telco giant Viettel Nguyen Manh Hung said the group was committed to providing customers with the lowest-cost services to satisfy their demands. He emphasised promoting cable television as one of the group’s foremost priorities.

Viettel was licensed to provide cable TV services in April 2013 and pledged to roll out the service within a year.

The telco said it was targeting customers in rural and remote areas, capitalizing on its vast transmission infrastructure advantages.

According to deputy chairman and general secretary of Vietnam PayTV Association Le Dinh Cuong, payTV is a healthy competitive market and the consumer benefits when service providers demonstrate their commitment to offering low-cost quality services.

In respect to service providers’ concerns over the possibility that new-comer Viettel will apply a low-cost tactic to woo customers the way it did, and succeeded with, in the telecom sector, Cuong said, “The association has urged government agencies to finalise a floor-pricing scheme in this year’s second quarter to ensure healthy market competition.”