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Why does the quality of telecom services remain poor?
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In recent years, Vietnam’s telecommunications industry has seen an impressive growth. However, the overall quality and stability remain poor.

What should the management agencies do to improve the quality of telecom services and protect consumer interests? Nguyen Duc Trung, Deputy Head of the Department for Information and Technology and Communication Quality Control under the Ministry of Information and Communications talked to the media on the issue.

Reporter: The Telecommunications Law was adopted by the National Assembly in its recent session. How is the quality control of telecom services regulated by law?

Mr Trung: The Telecommunications Law has specific terms stipulating the responsibility of businesses and telecom service providers and regulations on service users’ rights and obligations.

On the telecom market, there are 11 businesses allowed to set up telecom networks, eight mobile telecom service providers, four 3G service providers and 81 internet service providers.

Article 15 regulates that telecom service providers are responsible for ensuring the legitimate rights and interest of telecom service users. Under Article 16, telecom service users are entitled to use telecom services with the quality and charges reflected under the contracts signed with telecom businesses. Article 52 also stipulates standards, and technical specifications for the telecom services as well as businesses’ responsibility for examining and supervising the telecom service quality.

Reporter: What improvements do the above-mentioned regulations make to those stipulated in the 2002 Ordinance on Post and Telecommunications?

Mr Trung: Under the 2002 Ordinance on Post and Telecommunications, businesses must clarify the telecom service quality but their responsibility for ensuring the quality is not regulated as agreed in contracts with service users. The ordinance also does not regulate service users’ rights in line with the quality in their contracts signed with service providers. Therefore, the Telecommunications Law has increased the responsibility of businesses and protected consumer interests.

Reporter: Recently, telecom service users have often received spam (unsolicited mass advertisement messages). Does this violate any articles of the law?

Mr. Trung: In the Telecommunications Law, processing spam is also mentioned. However, the law puts forth a basic principle. After the law is approved, there will be additional regulations on what spam is and how to treat administrative violations.

Reporter: What will happen if businesses supply services fail to meet registered standards or assist their customers comprehensively, resulting in dissatisfaction with the quality of services?

Mr. Trung: Right now there are decrees addressing administrative violations in this regard. Businesses failing to ensure the quality of telecommunications services will be punished following Decree 142 issued in 2004 and businesses failing in terms of the quality of internet services will be punished following Decree 28 issued in 2009. All information on such violations will be announced to the public on the website of Department for Information and Technology and Communication Quality Control.

Reporter: Competitiveness among businesses supplying service is more and more critical, what can we do to increase the quality of telecommunications services?

Mr. Trung: Recently, we have employed many measures to warn and guide businesses to follow regulations on the management of the quality of telecommunications service. Every year, the Department carries out audits of businesses. When the Telecommunications Law is approved, regulations will be put in place to create conditions for pushing up oversight.

Reporter: Does the Telecommunications Law put forth sufficient sanctions against businesses failing to fulfil their telecommunications service quality commitments?

Mr. Trung: The Law only lays out basic principles. When the Law becomes effective, we will build the regulations to deal with such violations. Before being issued, all normative acts are registered on websites of Ministry of Information and Communications to acquire the opinions of businesses and people. Therefore, we hope people will contribute their opinions on how to increase the quality of these regulations.

VietNamNet/VOV