The Ordinance on Post and Telecommunications was issued in 2002 to open a legal corridor for the telecom market. However, the ordinance is no longer appropriate in the current situation, since Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Telecommunications Law is a must to promote the development of the telecom-IT industry.

The most important point in the draft bill is that all economic sectors, including private ones, are allowed to build network infrastructure.

The bill also has articles to enforce the role of management of the state in the telecom field, to boost administrative reforms and to apply the market mechanism in controlling telecom resources.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, telecom resources comprise: frequency bands, telephone numbers, domain names and Internet addresses. The ministry proposed to apply the market mechanism to manage these resources, for example through auctions or exams.

The draft law says that the local telecom market will be opened to foreign investors under the roadmap that the country agreed to under its WTO commitments.

Accordingly, foreigners who invest in the telecom sector in Vietnam for the first time have to apply for investment certificates from competent agencies.

Foreign-invested firms which have been operating in Vietnam and want to invest in telecom projects only need to fulfill business registration formalities under the Enterprise Law or adjust their business registration certificates or investment registration certificates and ask for telecom licences.

Huyen Chi