VietNamNet Bridge – The strong infrastructure system and the
experience in market development of telecom groups will make them the
redoubtable rivals to the existing cable TV service providers, including the
national VTV.
The biggest advantage of the
existing TV enterprises lies in the content production. Meanwhile, this proves
to be the biggest disadvantage of telecom groups once their join the TV market.
However, telcos have a great
advantage in transmission, which is the biggest disadvantage of the current TV
enterprises. It’s obviously an impossible mission for TV enterprises to build
up the transmission lines to provide services to every household in communes
and villages.
Therefore, TV enterprises
anticipate that they would be inferior to telcos when the telcos join the
pay-TV market. As soon as telcos expressed their intention to jump into the
market, TV enterprises raised a campaign to prevent telcos from entering their
land.
In a document sent to competent
agencies, the alliance of TV enterprises, headed by VTV, accused Viettel, VNPT
and FPT, the big telcos planning to jump into the pay-TV market, of making
investment in non-core business fields, thus coming contrary to the
government’s policy which says that state owned enterprises need to gather
their strength on the main business fields.
However, in reply, the Ministry
of Information and Telecommunication has clearly stated its viewpoint that all
enterprises are encouraged to take full advantage of their existing
infrastructure items to develop diversified services, including cable TV. As
such, Viettel, FPT and VNPT can use their existing infrastructure system to
provide many other types of services, not only TV.
Therefore, the decision by the
telcos to provide pay-TV services should be seen as the way for the telcos to
take full advantage of their advantages, instead of “making investment in
non-core business fields” as accused by the TV enterprises.
Truong Gia Binh, President of
FPT, the biggest technology group in Vietnam, said if telcos are not allowed to
jump into the pay-TV market, this would be a big waste of resources to telcos
and the society as well. In the context of the network service convergence, one
would take loss if he only provides one service on one cable line.
According to Nguyen Manh Hung,
Deputy General Director of Viettel, the group had developed 200,000 kilometers
of fiber cable nationwide, which means that Viettel’s cable has reached out to
every family. Therefore, if Viettel provides cable TV service, it would be able
to save the investment costs, provide high quality services and reach to remote
areas.
High expectations put on telcos
Analysts believe that the pay-TV
market would become more competitive, once telcos officially join the market,
thus benefiting customers.
Of the three telcos, Viettel is
believed to be the most dangerous rival, followed by VNPT. Both of them are
believed to have the best infrastructure systems which reach out to every
commune.
People put a high hope that
Viettel would be able to make a “revolution” in the cable TV market like it
could do in the mobile service market. Price and service quality are always the
main factors that decide the enterprises’ success. Meanwhile, Viettel believes
that it has both.
VCTV, SCTV and other existing
cable TV firms have been providing services based on old technologies.
Meanwhile, if Viettel, VNPT and FPT Telecom join the market, they would utilize
advanced technologies which would better satisfy the customers’ demand.
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