Mobile-to-landline connection fees to rise

The Ministry of Information and Communications has decided to increase connection fees for calls made from mobiles to landline telephones, from VND270 per minute to VND415 per minute as of October 1.

The increase is a solution to partly help fixed telephone networks develop and minimise losses for fixed telephone service providers, according to Bui Quoc Viet, official of the Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT).

For calls from mobile networks to fixed telephone networks, mobile phone service providers pay fixed phone service providers VND270 per minute. As of October, mobile networks will have to pay an additional VND145 per minute, or an increase of 53 per cent over the current rate. The new connection fee has not yet included value added tax.

The price rise will mean both mobile phone service providers and landline service providers will be paying the same rate for calls.

However, experts noted that this was not a solution to spur the development of fixed telephone service providers. In Ha Noi alone, the Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group annually loses about 60,000 fixed telephone subscribers, who opt to end their contracts. It is reported that service providers are suffering losses due to the high investment costs for development and maintenance of the fixed telephone networks.

According to the General Statistics Office, the number of fixed and mobile phone subscribers throughout the country topped 128 million. The mobile phone network alone saw 5.7 million new subscribers in the first seven months, a decrease of one million new subscribers over the same period last year.

There were only 36,000 new fixed telephone subscribers during the same period. By late July, the number of phone subscribers across the country was estimated to stand at 128.1 million, up 4.3 per cent over the same period last year.

In addition, the number of ADSL subscribers was estimated to reach 4 million by the end of July, a 19 per cent year-on-year increase. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam Telecom, Vietnam telecom maket