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Mobile providers cut prices
Viet Nam had 101.7 million telephone subscribers by the first half of this year, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.
The total included 82 million mobile phones and 19.7 million fixed-telephone, wireless fixed-telephone and intra-city mobile networks.
These figures indicated the high growth of the domestic telecom market, said the ministry.
Le Doan Hop, Minister of Information and Communications, said the domestic telecom market had developed well over the last two years, despite the global economic crisis and resulting inflation.
Revenue was still up and many new mobile phone service providers were entering the market, Hop said, adding that mobile phone service charges were getting cheaper.
"The cost of mobile services in Viet Nam is lowest in the region and the world," Hop said.
Early this month, Mobifone lowered telecom pre-paid packages 30 per cent and Vinafone has plans to cut its telecom charge for service packages. Telecom experts said the charge for mobile and fixed phones would continue to decline in the future when the domestic market had more telecom service providers.
Viet Nam has six mobile phone service providers: Vinafone, Mobifone, Viet-tel, S-Fone, EVN Telecom and Vietnamobile. Next month, the domestic market will welcome Beeline.
Indochina Telecom and VTC are in the process of getting licences for the Viet Nam market.
Taking into account the rising number of mobile phone subscriber, the Ministry of Information and Communications issued Circular 22/2009/TT-BTTTT to limit each customer to three numbers with each phone network.
The limit was intended to save telecom resources, increase effectiveness and fairness due to the limit of mobile phone numbers available, said the ministry.
The circular also said that pre-paid mobile phone numbers, which do not register accurate subscriber information would be shut down starting January 1, 2010.
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