The National Assembly’s Standing Committee deputies on Tuesday agreed to allow private companies to invest in communication infrastructure.

Dang Vu Minh, chairman of the NA Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, said the state policy is to encourage all economic parties to invest in communications infrastructure.

It would hurt investment effectiveness and increase risks to the budget if only state-owned enterprises are allowed to invest in the field, he said.

Deputies also agreed to let communication companies continue to use electricity infrastructure such as power poles but they shouldn’t create an eyesore and must comply with zoning plans.

The draft document also proposed that the government provide more detailed regulations for shared infrastructure to reduce ugly power line buildups and disputes between providers.

Some deputies said the draft law should stipulate taxes for using electronic communication resources, like frequencies, phone numbers and Internet domains.

However, the proposal was rejected by a majority of deputies, because there was already a fee in place.

Deputies also criticized the management of prepaid mobile phone subscribers, which has led to an increase in spam advertising from unidentified numbers.

Le Doan Hop, Minister of Information and Communications, said most telecommunications firms had requested their customers to register personal information.

However, he said the telcos had to rely on the authenticity of identity cards and were unable to confirm the information.

Reported by Xuan Toan