Minister Nguyen Manh Hung: 'Put it into law to formalize OTT management'

The Minister of Information and Communications said that including OTT services in the scope of the revised Telecommunications Law project is to formalize management.

At the working session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the morning of August 24, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that when passed, the bill will define more fully and clearly three services including data center, cloud computing and basic telecommunications services on the Internet (OTT).

"These services are increasingly important, but have not been mentioned anywhere. They should be included in the law but on the basis of soft management, promoting development and ensuring health," said Mr. Hung.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung speaks on the morning of August 24. Photo: National Assembly Media

Agreeing with the above view, Chairman of the Committee for Science , Technology and Environment Le Quang Huy said that putting the three services under management is suitable "in the context of strong digital transformation with the convergence trend between telecommunications and information technology".

In addition, the market has seen the emergence of a number of services that provide additional features similar to traditional telecommunications services. These services need to be adjusted in an appropriate manner to both meet management requirements and create favorable conditions to encourage innovation and development.

"Regulating OTT telecommunications services will create equality among businesses. Many countries have defined OTT telecommunications as telecommunications services, managed according to telecommunications laws," Mr. Huy said.

In response to the opinions of delegates, the draft Law will be revised in the direction of "light management" for the three above-mentioned services, not limiting the foreign capital contribution ratio for investment and business activities of data center services, cloud computing services, and telecommunications OTT services in Vietnam. However, the draft adds clear regulations on the obligations of enterprises providing the three above-mentioned services, focusing on ensuring service quality; user rights, information safety and security; reducing some obligations compared to traditional telecommunications services.

Previously, some network operators reported that they had to invest in Internet infrastructure, but were being competed by online services. At a meeting of the Ministry of Information and Communications on the afternoon of April 6, Mr. Cao Anh Son, General Director of Viettel Telecom, said that while telecommunications enterprises were witnessing a large decline in services such as phone calls and SMS, OTT services were growing strongly, with some growing at double-digit rates. Therefore, network operators hope that the Ministry's new bill will have measures for OTT to share revenue with network operators to increase investment in infrastructure.

The National Assembly is expected to consider and approve the draft Law on Telecommunications (amended) at its 6th session in October.

Vnexpress.net