Vietnam Ministry Disapproves Mobile Phone Charge Cuts
The Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) has required all local telecom companies to not lower their mobile phone call charges from now till the Lunar New Year, or Tet holiday, which falls on February 14.
The requirement came after Military Telecom Corporation (Viettel) sought to cut its charges by 15%-20% for all pre-paid and post-paid subscribers, with the lowest charge at VND790/minute beginning February 1, 2010.
Then VinaPhone and MobiFone also proposed to slash 20% of their call charges.
Pham Hong Hai, director of the Telecommunications Department, said that mobile network operators must focus on ensuring their service quality during Tet holiday rather than reducing charges.
The proposals, if approved, will create a new price war at this time and strongly hurt small telecom firms in the market, the ministry said.
The ministry will consider the proposals after Tet, Hai added.
Viettel lowered its rates by 20% from Monday with the government’s approval and it may face penalties from the ministry, the Tuoi Tre newspaper said. (Youth, Liberated Saigon)
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