Mobile network providers will cut mobile call rates by 20 percent from May 1, according to a circular issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications in December, 2017.

According to Circular 48/2017/TT-BTTTT dated December 29, 2017, the fee a mobile network has to pay when its user makes a voice call to a number on another network will range from 400 – 440 VND per minute, 20 percent lower than the current fee of 500 – 550 VND per minute.

In addition, the circular regulates that if a landline network subscriber calls a mobile number, the mobile network operator will be paid 320 VND per minute, exclusive of VAT.

It is part of the ministry’s effort to adopt more drastic solutions to stop spam messages and prevent trading pre-activating SIM cards as requested by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in 2017.

The Ministry of Information and Communications also restricts the maximum top-up bonus to 20 percent instead of the previous ceiling of 50 percent of the top-up value, effective from March 1. The move aims to ensure the rights of post-paid subscribers and promote a health competition between domestic mobile network operators.-VNA