You are using an outdated browser and your browsing experience will not be optimal. Please update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Install Microsoft Edge

February 26, 2023

Key Changes in Vietnam’s Draft Telecom Law

Subscribe to Updates

Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has been working to replace the outdated 2009 Telecom Law with a new version more suited to today’s digital economy. A draft Telecom Law was made available for public consultation from October 27 to December 27, 2022. On January 17, 2023, the MIC submitted an amended draft (the “Draft”) to the Ministry of Justice for appraisal (the Vietnamese version of the Draft and accompanying documents in the dossier can be accessed here). The Draft is scheduled to be discussed by the National Assembly in May 2023 and submitted for approval in October 2023.

The key content and changes of the Draft as compared to the existing law are set out below.

1. Licensing Telecom Services

For domestic enterprises, the 2009 Telecom Law only provides two types of licenses—telecom network establishment licenses and telecom service business licenses—without differentiating the conditions and licensing procedures for various types of telecom services. This no longer meets management requirements and does not encourage enterprises to participate in providing new services on already existing infrastructure.

Although the Draft retains the two main types of licenses—licenses to provide telecom services with network establishment for a term of not more than 15 years; and licenses to provide telecom services without network establishment with a term of no more than 10 years—it also provides different licensing conditions for different types of telecom service provision, with three kinds of licensing: (i) individual licenses for certain enterprises with specific conditions and obligations based on telecom management objectives at the time of licensing; (ii) class licenses for businesses that meet the prescribed licensing conditions; and (iii) registration, which requires businesses only to submit registration information according to the prescribed form to be licensed.

In addition, to avoid the situation of licensed telecom network enterprises delaying or not implementing telecom network establishment as licensed, the Draft regulates that enterprises providing telecom services with network establishment must meet conditions of charter capital, network deployment, and service quality.

2. Cross-Border Provision of Telecom Services

For overseas enterprises, the Draft regulates that the provision of cross-border telecom services to users in Vietnam:

  • Must comply with the provisions of Vietnamese law and international treaties to which Vietnam is a member;
  • Must be done through a commercial agreement with a Vietnamese telecom enterprise that has been licensed to provide telecom services;
  • Requires Vietnamese licensed telecom enterprises to register a sample commercial agreement [with the competent agency], to have necessary technical plans to perform the task of controlling and ensuring information security or perform emergency prevention and/or stop providing telecom services at the request of competent agencies;
  • Must ensure the requirements for safety, national security and defense, and legitimate public policy objectives;
  • Will be guided in detail by the government.

3. OTT Telecom Services

The Draft supplements the definition of OTT telecom services (for example, WhatsApp, Zalo, Viber, Line, etc.) which are called “internet application services in telecom.” Accordingly, these services are telecom services providing the main function of sending, transmitting, receiving, and processing information between two or more telecom service users via the internet. The Draft allows cross-border provision of OTT telecom services to Vietnam with regulations on service providers’ responsibilities in service provision as well as requirements for notification to the MIC of contact information and other content. Forms and procedures for notification must comply with the government’s regulations.

Some key responsibilities of OTT telecom service providers include:

  • If it is necessary to access information, data, or features on the user’s terminal to serve the provision of services, the service provider must notify the user of the need and obtain the user’s consent prior to performing access.
  • Service providers must be responsible for service quality according to registered or announced standards; ensuring the correct, sufficient, and accurate calculation of charges under the contract for using telecom services.
  • Service providers must report periodically or at the request of the specialized telecom management agency on the operation of the enterprise, and must be responsible for the accuracy and timeliness of the content and data of the report.

With “internet application services in telecom” defined as a type of telecom service, the question arises whether it is also subject to the general requirement of cross-border provision of telecom services—i.e., that it must be through a commercial agreement with a Vietnamese telecom enterprise that has been licensed to provide telecom services. It is recommended that this ambiguity should be clarified by the MIC to avoid uncertainty and difficult implementation in the future.

4. Telecom Wholesale and Retail Services

The regulations on wholesale management in the existing Telecom Law are incomplete, and only provide interconnection and common use of essential facilities without regulations on buying and selling of telecom traffic for resale. This leads to difficulties for businesses to cooperate and negotiate with each other, and for state agencies to intervene when there is a dispute. The Draft aims at supplementing provisions to ensure that both wholesale and retail telecom markets are regulated, promoting healthy competition, and facilitating businesses to enter the telecom market to develop new services and provide a variety of telecom services, telecom application services, and other new services.

The Draft provides definitions of telecom wholesale and retail services, the obligations of telecom enterprises providing wholesale services for telecom services that require state management, the obligations of telecom companies with a dominant market position, and acts that restrict competition in the telecom sector.

One act of unfair competition which is not permitted for telecom enterprises or groups of telecom enterprises having a dominant market position, or telecom enterprises holding essential facilities, is to cross-offset telecom services.

Some key obligations of telecom wholesale service providers include:

  • Providing services with fair and reasonable tariff charges and conditions, without discriminating between service-buying enterprises, or between the enterprise’s own retail unit and service-buying enterprises for resale under the same circumstances.
  • Transparency of tariff charges, telecom standards, and technical regulations; quality of telecom networks and services.
  • Implementing the principles of price management of telecom wholesale services set out by the specialized telecom management agency when determining and adjusting prices.

5. Satellite Telecom Services

According to the MIC, the development trend of LEO (low-earth orbit) satellite services with cross-border services having the nature of collecting data, is likely to affect national defense, network security, information security, and protection of users’ personal data and interests, and at the same time compete directly with the domestic terrestrial mobile and fixed broadband services.

Currently, regulations on licensing satellite telecom services are at the decree level and there is no specific provision on how to license a foreign enterprise providing cross-border satellite services via an agreement with licensed telecom Vietnamese enterprises. Therefore, having learned from international experience, the MIC aims to regulate satellite services by including in the Draft a provision on cross-border telecom service provision (item 2 above), together with licensing conditions of domestic telecom enterprises providing telecom services with network establishment.

6. Data Center Services and Cloud Computing Services

The Draft has a new chapter on data center services and cloud computing services. Data center services are services that provide computing capacity, storage, and technical infrastructure of a data center, which is a complex consisting of a system of technical infrastructure, information infrastructure and ancillary equipment installed into the system to perform storage, processing, exchange, and central management of data of one or more organizations and individuals. Cloud computing is a service model that allows people to easily access shared computing resources (networks, servers, storage, applications, services) through a network connection anytime, anywhere, and as required. Cloud computing services are services that provides cloud computing resources, including information infrastructure, platform, and software as a service (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) on a network environment. The Draft does not classify data center services and cloud computing services, as the previous draft did, but leaves this classification to be further regulated by the government.

The Draft regulates that the business of data center services and cloud computing services is a conditional business. This new chapter also provides general conditions for service provision, and responsibilities and obligations of service providers in ensuring compliance with storage regulations, announcement of standards and technical regulations, responsibility for service quality, protection of personal information and interests of users, ensuring network information security, and handling content that violates copyright or intellectual property rights or violates the law at the request of a competent authority. In addition, this chapter also regulates the rights and obligations of service users and establishes policies to encourage investment and development of data center services.

Interestingly, unlike the earlier draft, this Draft does not clearly regulate how offshore service providers can provide data center services or cloud computing services to users in Vietnam. The previous Draft set out that all providers of data center services and IaaS cloud computing services, whether onshore or offshore, had to obtain a permit to provide the services by registration with the MIC via its online portal; while PaaS and SaaS cloud computing services were exempted from this requirement. The latest Draft, instead, simply provides that providers of these services must meet the conditions on investment and business before providing the services to users in Vietnam, leaving further guidance to the government.

Related Professionals

Industries

Technology

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

March 18, 2025
On February 6, 2025, the prime minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh, chaired an online meeting to review the progress of Vietnam’s digital transformation agenda. The meeting assessed achievements under the National Digital Transformation Program and Project 06 on the development and application of population data, electronic identification, and authentication for national digital transformation for the period 2022-2025, with a vision to 2030, approved by the prime minister in 2022. The meeting also outlined key legislative and regulatory priorities for 2025, as set forth in Notice No. 56/TB-BPCP issued by the Government Office on February 23, 2025 (Notice 56). One of the central focuses of the 2025 digital transformation agenda is the development and issuance of laws and regulations governing digital technology, data management, and cybersecurity. Below are the key legal developments provided in Notice 56 that stakeholders should anticipate in the coming months. 1. Law on Digital Technology Industry The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has been tasked with finalizing the draft Law on Digital Technology Industry (DTI Law) for submission to the National Assembly at its 9th session in May 2025. This law is expected to establish a comprehensive legal framework for the digital technology sector, addressing regulatory gaps in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, big data and platform services to promote innovation, ensure data security, and support the growth of the digital economy in Vietnam. Concurrently, the MIC will expedite the issuance of guiding decrees to ensure the swift implementation of the DTI Law once enacted. 2. Law on Personal Data Protection and regulations guiding implementation of Data Law The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) is making efforts to finalize the long-anticipated Law on Personal Data Protection (PDPL)—data protection is currently governed by Decree No. 13/2023/ND-CP on
Read More
March 17, 2025
Tilleke & Gibbins has contributed the Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam chapters to Data Protection and Cybersecurity Regulation in Southeast Asia, a wide-ranging guide published by Drew Network Asia (DNA). The resource provides a comprehensive overview of data protection and cybersecurity laws across the region, offering practical insight into compliance requirements and regulatory developments affecting organizations that handle personal data or operate digital services in Southeast Asia. The guide begins with a regional overview, including the broader ASEAN context and cooperation initiatives. Jurisdiction-specific chapters follow a consistent structure—covering data privacy and governance obligations, security requirements and breach notification, outsourcing and cross-border data transfers, and broader accountability and compliance measures. This format allows readers to compare regulatory approaches across markets such as Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and others. In addition to the country chapters, the publication addresses cybersecurity and privacy engineering challenges, providing guidance for organizations and outlining obligations applicable to data controllers, processors, and intermediaries. A dedicated section on data breach management across ASEAN examines notification requirements, response considerations, and practical steps for managing incidents in a regional or global context. The guide is intended to serve as a practical reference, and the authors note that specific legal requirements may vary depending on sector, processing activity, or evolving legislation. Readers seeking more detailed advice can contact the practitioners listed in each chapter. The full guide is available for download using the button below or directly from the DNA website.
Read More
March 13, 2025
Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has released a draft Decree on Tax Administration for E-Commerce and Digital Platforms (“Draft Decree”), introducing significant tax compliance obligations that could reshape how digital platforms, and individuals and business households conducting business through the platforms, manage their tax responsibilities. Aimed at strengthening tax enforcement, the Draft Decree requires e-commerce and digital platforms to actively track and withhold taxes from business households and individual sellers, and remit payments to tax authorities. While it has not yet been promulgated, the Draft Decree is expected to take effect on April 1, 2025, leaving platforms with a limited window to prepare for compliance. Who Is Affected by the New Tax Rules? The Draft Decree significantly broadens the tax administration scope beyond traditional e-commerce platforms to cover a wide range of digital economy participants. Specifically, the Draft Decree places direct tax-related responsibilities on two major categories (collectively, “Regulated Operators”): E-commerce and digital platforms with payment functions (e.g., platforms that process buyer payments via e-wallets, bank transfers, cards, or cash-on-delivery); and Other digital-economy players that enable e-commerce transactions, including (i) intermediary service platforms connecting service providers with consumers, (ii) digital content platforms, (iii) online advertising providers, (iv) cloud computing and data storage providers, (v) social media platforms engaged in business activities (e.g., live-stream, in-app transactions), (vi) online education, gaming, and digital entertainment platforms generating revenue from digital transactions, (vii) Vietnam-based partners of foreign digital service providers facilitating local payments for overseas platforms, and (viii) intermediary payment service providers handling financial transactions for e-commerce activities. Under the Draft Decree, Regulated Operators will be required to track, report, and enforce tax compliance for both resident and nonresident individuals and households conducting business through their platforms (“Sellers”). What New Tax Obligations Do Platforms Face? Onshore platforms For the first time, Regulated Operators will
Read More
March 10, 2025
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will officially add USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT) to its list of approved cryptocurrencies for use in digital asset transactions on March 16, 2025. The addition is a significant move that expands Thailand’s digital asset market, aiming to enhance market flexibility and provide more payment options for investors and traders in Thailand’s digital asset ecosystem. Under the SEC regulations, digital asset operators, including digital token issuers, ICO portals, and digital asset exchanges, are only permitted to accept, conduct transactions with, and use “approved cryptocurrencies” as trading pairs. After the addition of USDC and USDT, the full list of approved cryptocurrencies will include: Bitcoin (BTC) Ethereum (ETH) Ripple (XRP) Stellar (XLM) Tether (USDT) USD Coin (USDC) Other cryptocurrencies used for testing programmable payments under the enhanced regulatory sandbox in accordance with the Bank of Thailand’s rules and conditions. For more information on these new additions, or on any aspect of digital assets and cryptocurrency in Thailand, please contact Kobkit Thienpreecha at [email protected], Pornpan Wichawut at [email protected], Napassorn Lertussavavivat at [email protected], or Rujaporn Paritsantik at [email protected].
Read More