Seven telecom companies in HCM City that supplied illegal cable TV and Internet services have been fined VND 35 million ($2,060) each. Their equipment was also seized.

Cable TV and Internet services will be controlled more strictly.

Seven telecom companies in HCM City that supplied illegal cable TV and Internet services have been fined VND 35 million ($2,060) each. Their equipment was also seized.

Five companies were fined for setting up cable TV and Internet networks without licenses, namely the Blue Sky Telecom Company, the Life Broadband Information JS Company, the Dai Phuc Media JS Company, the New Urban Media Co, Ltd., and the Viet Thanh Technology Co, Ltd.

Two other companies, the Phu My TV Cable JS Company and Song Thu Co, Ltd., were fined for owning a cable TV network without a license.

These companies cooperated with the HCM City Television Station (HTV) to develop TV infrastructure facilities but they did not ask for a license from the authorities.

In late 2008, the Ministry of Information and Communications imposed a VND 35 million fine on two firms, Somonet and Elinco, for similar reason.

So far, there are only ten companies licensed by the Ministry to build telecom networks and provide telecom services in Vietnam.

VietNamNet/PL TPHCM