Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai has ordered the Ministry of Finance and theMinistry Industry and Trade to monitor telecom fees by three giantproviders, in compliance with the Competition Law.
The DeputyPM also asked the Competition Management Department to make public theresult of an investigation into the fee hikes by Vinaphone, Mobifone andViettel after they increased 3G fees on the same day and by the sameamounts.
In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT)was asked to chair and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and theMinistry of Information and Communications (MIC) to make clear thedifferences in the pricing regulations stipulated by the MIC against theGovernment regulation, detailing the implementation of telecomservices.
Hai also required the MIC to learn from experiencesin executing prices of telecom charges and distributing information forthe public to clearly understand the pricing policy.
Furthermore, the MIT is responsible for monitoring and ensuring benefits for telecom service users.
At mid-October this year, the three giant providers simultaneouslyincreased 3G fees, thus showing signs of collusion among them who usedtheir market domination to violate the Competition Law.
Therefore, the Government has ordered authorities to launch a probe andtake punitive sanctions against the three firms if evidence ofviolations can be established.
As the service providerssupplied evidence that they had been charging a fee that had been lowerthan its costs, and that the fee had been lower than global and regionallevels, they were allowed to raise the fee.
Previously, the 3Gservice was increased from 50,000 VND (2.5 USD) to 70,000 VND (3.5 USD)per month. However, providers were allowed to raise service fees by upto 40 percent, which caused public concerns.-VNA
