Telcos need to step up

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Duong Quoc, VietGlobal Communication and SNLink just had their telecom services licences taken back by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) as these firms impinged on Telecom Law’s Clause 39, Item 1 which stipulates firms will loose their licences if they fail to deploy registered services within two years of getting a licence.
 
At this time the MIC took back licences from 10 firms out of 90 licenced businesses, according to MIC deputy minister Le Nam Thang.
 
“In the coming period, after rearranging state-owned enterprises the MIC will review licences of businesses getting telecom services provision certificates,” said Thang.
 
Thang noted the MIC would check licences of telcos with network infrastructure. Accordingly, those firms obtaining licences for services and just deploying a few services will have un-deployed services licences taken back.
 
More than 30 firms may be blacklisted after failing to deploy registered services after more than two years of getting licences.

For instance, GTel and Indochina Telecom got licences on Internet service provision (IXP and ISP) from 2008 and CMC Telecom Infrastructure (CMC TI) got ISP license from 2009. These firms have yet to deploy registered services.
 
“Dong Duong Telecom and VTC, the first two firms getting virtual mobile network operator (VMNO) licences, will face having licences withdrawn if they fail to deploy these registered services,” Thang said.
 
Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre figures show that by end of April 2012  Vietnam’s leading state telco VNPT held 65.05 per cent internet services provision market share, followed by military telecom group Viettel 19.02 per cent and  FPT 10.32 per cent.
 
In respect to mobile telecom services, Viettel and VNPT hold a 95 per cent market share, squeezing out small firms.