Chương 2 Luật viễn thông năm 2009: Kinh doanh viễn thông

Chapter II

TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS

Article 13. Forms of telecommunications business

1. Telecommunications business means provision of telecommunications services and trading in telecommunications commodities.

The provision of telecommunications services means investment in the public telecommuni­cations infrastructure and provision of telecom­munications services for the profit purpose.

The trading in telecommunications commodities means investment, manufacture, sale and purchase, or lease of telecommuni­cations software, supplies and equipment for the profit purpose.

2. The provision of telecommunications services shall comply with this Law and other relevant laws.

The trading in telecommunications commodities shall comply with Articles 51 and 52 of this Law and other relevant laws.

Article 14. Rights and obligations of telecommunications businesses

1. Apart from the rights and obligations provided in the Law on Enterprises, service providers without network infrastructure also have the following rights and obligations:

a/ To build, install and own systems of telecommunications equipment and transmission lines within locations of their public service establishments and points for providing telecommunications services to users;

b/ To hire transmission lines for inter­connection of their systems of telecommunica­tions equipment and public service establishments and points and logging of these systems to public telecommunications networks of other telecommunications businesses:

c/To hire transmission lines or buy telecom­munications flows of other telecommunications businesses for resale to telecommunications service users;

d/To sublease telecommunications infrastruc­ture to other telecommunications businesses;

e/ To be distributed the telecommunications resources under the telecommunications resource planning and regulations on management of telecommunications resources;

f/To perform public-utility telecommunica­tions tasks assigned by the State and make financial contributions to the Vietnam Fund for Public-Utility Telecommunications Services;

g/ To lake responsibility for the quality of services according to registered or announced standards; to ensure the correct, adequate and accurate calculation of service charges under telecommunications service contracts;

h/To submit to the control by competent state agencies and comply with regulations on assurance of safety of telecommunications infrastructure and information security;

i/ To report, on a periodical basis or at the request of the specialized management agency in charge of telecommunications, on their operations; and to take responsibility for the accuracy and timeliness of reported contents and data.

2. Providers of network infrastructure services have the following rights and obligations:

a/ To use the space, ground surface, underground space, river bed and sea bed for building telecommunications infrastructure under the planning, technical standards and regulations;

b/To lease telecommunications infrastructure to other telecommunications businesses:

c/ To participate in providing public-utility telecommunications services:

d/ Other rights and obligations provided in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 15. Rights and obligations of telecommunications service agents

Apart from the rights and obligations provided in the Commercial Law. telecommuni­cations service agents also have the following rights and obligations:

To set up systems of terminal equipment at places used for provision of telecommunications services to users as agreed in telecommunications service agency contracts;

To provide or resell telecommunications services under this Law;

To refuse providing telecommunications services to users violating Article 12 of this Law or at the request of competent state agencies;

To comply with regulations on assurance of safety of telecommunications infrastructure and information security;

To request telecommunications businesses entering into telecommunications service agency contracts to guide and supply information on telecommunications services and submit to inspection and control by these telecommuni­cations businesses;

To provide telecommunications services within time limits set by local administrations:

To provide telecommunications services of quality and at charge rates indicated in telecommunications service agency contracts.

Article 16. Rights and obligations of telecommunications service users and telecommunications subscribers

1. Telecommunications service users have the following rights and obligations:

a/ To select telecommunications businesses or telecommunications service agents for entry into telecommunications use contracts:

b/To request telecommunications businesses and telecommunications service agents to provide necessary information related to the use of or telecommunications services;

c/ To use or telecommunications services of quality and at charge rates indicated in telecommunications service use contracts:

d/ To refuse using some or all telecommuni­cations services under telecommunications service use contracts;

e/ To have their private information kept confidential under law;

f/To complain about service charge rates and quality; to be refunded service charges or enjoy compensations for other direct damage caused by telecommunications businesses or telecommunications service agents;

g/ To pay fully and on time telecommuni­cations service charges;

h/ To pay compensations for direct damage caused by them to telecommunications businesses or telecommunications service agents;

i/ To take responsibility before law for information transmitted, sent or stored on telecommunications networks:

j/ To refrain from using their telecommuni­cations infrastructure to commercially provide telecommunications services.

2. Telecommunications subscribers have the following rights and obligations:

a/ To design and install or hire other organizations or individuals to design and install subscriber terminal equipment and intranets from their places of service use to the terminal point of the public telecommunications network;

b/ To comply with regulations on management of telecommunications resources and telecommunications technical standards and regulations;

c/To provide adequate and accurate their vital information to telecommunications businesses upon entry into telecommunications service use contracts;

d/To protect their passwords, keywords and subscriber terminal equipment;

e/ The rights and obligations provided in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 17. Ownership in the provision of telecommunications services

1. The State holds dominant shares in telecommunications service providers with network infrastructure which are particularly important to operation of the entire national telecommunications infrastructure and exert direct effects on socio-economic development and defense and security maintenance.

The Prime Minister promulgates the list of service providers with network infrastructure in which the State holds controlling shares.

2. The Government shall specify the maximum equity or share level which an organization or individual is allowed to hold in two or more other telecommunications businesses which all conduct business in the same telecommunications service market in order to assure fair competition.

Article 18. Investment in commercial provision of telecommunications services

Investment in commercial provision of telecommunications services shall comply with this Law and the law on investment.

2. Forms and conditions of foreign investment and capital contribution caps of foreign investors in telecommunications services shall comply with Vietnamese laws and treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

The Government shall specify forms and conditions of foreign investment and maximum capital contribution caps of foreign investors in telecommunications services.

3. Foreign investors that make first-time investments in the provision of telecommunications services in Vietnam shall:

a/ Have investment projects and carry out procedures for investment registration or verification at state management agencies in charge of investment to obtain investment certificates, which concurrently serve as business registration certificates:

b/ Apply for licenses for provision of telecommunications services under Articles 34, 35 and 36 of this Law.

4. Foreign-invested businesses established in Vietnam and conducting investment in the provision of telecommunications services shall:

a/ Carry out procedures for modifying or supplementing their existing business registration certificates or investment certificates;

b/ Apply for licenses for provision of telecommunications services under Articles 34. 35 and 36 of this Law.

5. Vietnamese businesses without foreign investment and domestic investors conducting investment in the provision of telecommunications services shall:

a/ Make the business registration under the Law on Enterprises and other relevant laws:

b/ Apply for licenses for provision of telecommunications services under Articles 34, 35 and 36 of this Law without having to carry out procedures for investment registration and verification.

6. Offshore investment in the provision of telecommunications services shall comply with laws on investment of Vietnam and host countries.

Article 19. Competition in the provision of telecommunications services

1. Telecommunications businesses may not take acts of competition suppression or unfair competition as specified in the Law on Competition.

2. Apart from Clause I of this Article, telecommunications businesses or groups of telecommunications businesses that dominate the market and telecommunications businesses that possess essential devices shall refrain from taking the following acts:

a/ Clearing telecommunications services among them for the unfair competition purpose:

b/ Taking advantage of their telecommuni­cations networks and essential devices to impede the market penetration or limit or cause troubles to provision of telecommunications services by other telecommunications businesses;

c/ Using information obtained from other telecommunications businesses for the unfair competition purpose;

d/ Failing to promptly provide to other telecommunications businesses technical information on essential devices and relevant commercial information necessary for the provision of telecommunications services.

3. Telecommunications businesses or groups of telecommunications businesses that dominate the market or telecommunications businesses that possess essential devices shall make statistics on and conducting separate accounting of telecommunications services with dominant market shares to determine costs of these telecommunications services.

4. In each period, the Ministry of Information and Communications shall promulgate a list of telecommunications businesses and groups of telecommunications businesses that dominate the market in important telecommunications services subject to competition management by the State, and a list of telecommunications businesses that possess essential devices; and devise and apply management measures to promote competition and assure fair competition in the provision of telecommunications services.

5. Before embarking on the economic concentration, telecommunications businesses that have combined market share of 30-50% on the relevant service market shall notify it to the specialized management agency in charge of telecommunications.

6. The enforcement of the provisions of Clause 1, Article 25 of the Law on Competition in telecommunications activities shall be approved in writing by the Minister of Information and Communications.

7. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall specify the implementation of Clauses 1. 5 and 6 of this Article.