Paid TV provider asked to stop providing analog services in Vietnam capital
Friday, June 27, 2014, 16:32 GMT+7
SCTV, one of Vietnam’s major paid TV service providers, has been requested to stop offering their analog signals on Hanoi’s telecom network by August 1, as they are supplying these services without permission.
According to Nguyen Van Minh of the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications, the department’s inspectorate has requested SaigonTourist (SCTV) Co. to stop providing analog services in certain districts in the capital city.
In 2011, SCTV signed a contract with the Broadcasting and Television Service Co. (BTS) to offer its paid digital TV services in Hoang Mai, Ha Dong and Thanh Oai Districts.
By March 2014, SCTV expanded its services to eight other districts.
The investigation revealed that though the contracts between the company and its customers in the eight districts do not include the provision of analog services, local households can still get access to its analog signals.
Meanwhile, the company’s contracts with households in Hoang Mai, Ha Dong and Thanh Oai Districts include both analog and digital cable TV services, which violates its contract with BTS and its granted permit.
SCTV will also have to pay an administrative fine.
According to a state project expected to reach completion in 2020, by 2015, 80 percent of households with TV nationwide will gain access to digital TV services, among which digital terrestrial TV is expected to account for roughly 55 percent.
By the end of 2015, central and local television stations are expected to switch totally from analog TV to digital terrestrial television in major cities.
The plan also highlighted the need for all radio and television services to switch from analog TV to digital terrestrial television by 2020.
According to national statistics announced in 2013, TV viewers nationwide would have to spend a staggering VND9.1 trillion ($433.6 million) buying new reception devices for digital services.
There are roughly 18.2 million households with television sets in Vietnam. Among them, nearly 12.6 million currently use analog antennae.
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
