The Ministry of Information and Communications is considering a proposal from telecom providers to remove the ceiling promotion rate of 20 per cent for pre-paid subscribers.

The ministry’s Department of Telecommunications said they were working with the Finance Ministry to consider the proposal of adjusting the rate from the current 20 per cent to 50 per cent.

Previously, the ministry issued Circular 48/2017 which took effect on March 1, 2018 regulating mobile rates for mobile operators. Telecom providers in the country are only allowed to offer up to 20 per cent of a service’s value to pre-paid subscribers as a bonus during promotional campaigns. The maximum promotional value however has been set at 50 per cent for post-paid subscribers.

The limit applies to different forms of promotion, including bonus credits, in-kind benefits, and other perks.

The ministry said the regulation aimed to ensure fairer competition in the telecom market and better protect the rights of mobile subscribers.

In addition, the circular also promotes post-paid subscriptions as well as reducing spam messages and calls from advertisers.

After applying the ceiling promotion rate, the Vietnamese network operators have suffered decreasing revenue.

The country’s three biggest telecom providers including Viettel, Vinaphone and MobiFone said the maximum promotion rate of 20 per cent hurt their business.

Pre-paid subscribers now account for around 95 per cent of all mobile phone subscribers in Viet Nam. — VNS