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VietNamNet Bridge – Responding to the Viettel’s announcement to slash the
FTTH service (fiber to the home) charges to the levels equal ADSL charges, other
Internet service providers (ISP) say they will compete by offering high quality
services and integrate new features into service packages, while they will not
join the race of slashing charges.
A new shock caused by Viettel
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The former package is the service using full fiber optic technology, which allows clients to use Internet (with the maximum length of subscription lines less than 1000 meters) at the maximum domestic download and upload speed at 12 Mbps.
Meanwhile, FTTB Eco packages deploys fiber to the foot of the buildings plus short copper cable (applied to the enterprises inside the buildings) with the maximum domestic download/upload bandwidth of 12 Mbps/640Kbps and international bandwidth of 128Kbps.
Prior to that, from June 1 to July 31, Viettel launched a sales promotion program applied to new clients who registered FTTH services, offering the attractive charge of 500,000 dong only for 12 Mbps Biz12 package.
As for the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group VNPT, since August 1, 2011, VNPT Hanoi has raised the Internet access speed of the trial fiber service packages FiberHomeTV and FiberBusiness in the city. With the move, the upload speed of FiberHomeTV1, 2 service packages has increased by four or six times, while the upload speed of FiberBusiness has increased by eight times, while the monthly charges remain unchanged.
FiberHomeTV1, for example, with the access speed of 5Mbps/2Mbps still has the monthly subscription of 499,000 dong, while FiberHomeTV2 with the access speed of 7Mbps/3Mbps still has the subscription fee of 699,000 dong. The monthly subscription fee of 1.2 million dong is still being applied to FiberBusiness with the speed of 20Mbps/5Mbps.
With FTTH services, VNPT still keeps the same charges and the bandwidth after the adjustment in May when raising the maximum access speed of FiberVNN to 100Mbps, and the minimum speed from 512Kbps to 2Mbps, depending on the service packages. The lowest package of FiberVNN service is still between 700,000 dong and 900,000 dong a month.
Like VNPT, other Internet service providers (ISPs) such as CMC TI or FPT Telecom have not made any adjustments on the charges on fiber services, while the charges have been staying firmly around one million dong per month for FTTH or 500,000-750,000 dong for FTTB packages (CMC TI), VDSL (FPT Telecom).
ISP promise no price war
The move by Viettel to lower the FTTH charge to 350,000 dong, which is equal to the charge for ADSL services has raised the worries that a new price war would break out. Six years ago, in 2005, FPT Telecom once launched shockingly cheap ADSL service packages, which them prompted its rivals, including VNPT and Viettel, to join the price war by slashing charges to attract more users.
However, representative from VDC, a subsidiary of VNPT, said VNPT will not join the price war with other ISPs, while it will consider applying suitable pricing policies on the competitive areas. He has stressed that VDC/VNPT will not sell cheap or lower the prices of its packages.
He went on to say that VDC would integrate services into the packages and focus on developing services to increase its business efficiency.
“Consumers should not be convinced by the low prices, while they should pay attention more to the quality of services and the transmission lines to be provided by ISPs,” he said.
Meanwhile, FPT Telecom has announced it will make some adjustments with the charges, but has affirmed that the charges will not be as low as Viettel’s. In return, FPT Telecom will pay more attention to improving the quality of services and taking care for customers.
Vu The Binh, Director of NetNam Company also thinks that the price war would not be a good thing, because users will be the biggest sufferers.
Buu Dien
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