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Viber to be put under strict control for paid services
10:27, 2014/11/14
Under a draft circular on the management of internet-based voice and text services, Viber will have to cooperate with Vietnamese telcos and obey the regulations on charges and service quality to be eligible to provide Viber Out in Vietnam.
The circular stipulates that OTT (over the top) services will be under control. Viber will be most affected because it provides internet-based text and voice services, both free and paid.
 

The draft circular says that foreign firms will be allowed to provide paid internet-based text and voice services in Vietnam if they cooperate with Vietnamese telcos which have the license to provide the services.

Also, foreign service providers can set up servers in Vietnam if they cooperate with the Vietnamese telcos which have the license to provide internet-based text and voice services, under Vietnamese commitments in international treaties and the regulations on foreign investment stipulated in the Telecommunication Law.

As such, Viber will have to cooperate with a Vietnamese telco to be able to provide Viber Out service in Vietnam.

It will also have to respect the regulations on the service-charge management which are applied to traditional telecom services. And it will be responsible for quality control in accordance with Vietnamese standards.

Also under the draft circular, Viber will be able to cooperate with fixed and mobile terrestrial telecom service providers to provide internet-based voice services to mobile subscribers in Vietnam.

Talmon Marco, managing director of Viber, in a meeting with the local press, said the main source of income of Viber is from the sale of stickers and from Viber Out service.

For the near future, Viber will consider expanding its business in games and e-commerce as well.

The determination by the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) to put foreign OTT service providers under control has pleased Vietnamese telcos, which have complained it is unfair competition.

“While Vietnamese companies provide telecom services have to strictly follow Vietnamese laws, pay tax and fulfill many other duties, foreign OTT firms are providing services on the country’s broadband infrastructure and do not have to undertake any obligations,” a senior executive of a large mobile network in Vietnam said.

“This creates an unhealthy playing field for players, threatens the development of domestic businesses and affects national security,” he added.

After the South Korean Kakao Talk company left Vietnam, the OTT service market was narrowed down to three big players – Zalo, Viber and Line.

An unofficial report says there are 12 million Viber users in Vietnam, 4 million Line users and 10 million Zalo users.

The Japanese Line is believed to have a large number of loyal fans as it offers attractive games. The Vietnamese Zalo can provide high-quality message services. And Viber has recently launched a video-call service.
 
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