Viettel currently accounts for more than 50 per cent in the Vietnamese telecom market. It has become the only enterprise to have significant market power in land mobile services, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications. — Photo baophapluat.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viettel has become the only telecommunications enterprise to have significant market power (SMP) in land mobile services in terms of phones, messaging, and the Internet.

This was announced in Circular No. 15 issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications on June 15.

Earlier, in Circular No. 18 that was issued in 2012, the ministry listed three telecom companies dominating the Vietnamese market, namely Viettel, Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT)'s MobiFone, and VinaPhone.

According to the country's Competition Law, an enterprise is considered to have SMP if its market share is higher than 30 per cent, or has the ability to restrict competition in the relevant market.

At the moment, Viettel enjoys more than 50 per cent market share.

From June 15, the military-run enterprise has to register with the Department of Telecommunications for adjusting fees and offer promotions and is allowed to do it only with the department's approval. And they are not permitted to charge lower than cost prices.

Meanwhile, VinaPhone and MobiFone have joined telecom firms such as Vietnammobile and GTel, which are not in the dominating group. These companies can adjust fees and offer promotions without registering with the department. They are not prohibited from charging lower than cost prices either.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, by the end of 2014, Viettel, the largest mobile operator, gained more than VND197 trillion (US$8.95 trillion) in revenue and had 57.5 million subscribers. MobiFone's revenue was more than VND36.6 trillion ($1.66 trillion), with over 40 million subscribers, and VinaPhone had a revenue of more than VND25.6 trillion ($1.16), with over 26 million subscribers.

Viettel joined the local telecom market in October 2000 and after nearly 15 years, it has surpassed others to top the market. — VNS