Vietnam: What are regulations on identification of basic fee when using information on winning bid for frequency band in countries and territories?

Vietnam: What are regulations on identification of basic fee when using information on winning bid for frequency band in countries and territories?

Pursuant to Clause 1, 2 and 3, Article 4 of the Decree 88/2021/NĐ-CP stipulating identification of basic fee when using information on winning bid for frequency band in countries and territories as follows:

1. In case Vietnam has not identified fee for licensing use right of radio frequency of equivalent frequency band within 5 years prior to the date on which basic fee is to be identified, basic fee shall be identified according to Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Basic fee is determined as follows:

 

In which:

MTCS_MHz refers to basic fee for a megahertz (MHz) in one year (12 months) licensed for use, unit: VND/MHz/year;

n refers to number of selected samples prioritizing samples selected in countries or territories with the closest gross domestic per capita with Vietnam, n ≥3; collect only one sample from each country.  

DS_vn refers to the latest Vietnamese population publicized prior to the date on which basic fee is determined, unit: people;  

TG_vn refers to the latest central exchange rate of VND and USD publicized prior to the date on which basic fee is determined;

T_i refers to total winning bid of the equivalent frequency band of countries or territories corresponding to the i^th sample, unit: (currency applied in the bidding in respective countries or territories);

BT_i refers to total width of the equivalent frequency band corresponding to the i^th sample, unit: Megahertz (MHz);

DS_i refers to latest population of the countries or territories corresponding to the i^th sample publicized prior to the date on which bidding results are publicized, unit: people;

GP_i refers to effective period of license issued to the equivalent frequency band corresponding to the i^th sample, unit: year;

CPI_T_i refers to the latest consumer price index (CPI) of countries or territories corresponding to the i^th sample publicized prior to the date on which basic is determined;

CPI_D_i refers to the latest consumer price index (CPI) of countries or territories corresponding to the i^th sample publicized prior to the date on which bidding results are declared;

GDP_VN refers to the latest gross domestic product per capita (GDP/capita) of Vietnam publicized prior to the date on which basic fee is to be determined, unit: USD;

GDP_i refers to the latest gross domestic product per capita (GDP/capita) of countries or territories corresponding to the i^th sample publicized prior to the date on which bidding results are declared, unit: USD;

TG_i refers to the latest exchange rate from currency of the countries or territories corresponding to the i^th sample to USD publicized prior to the date on which basic fee is determined (TG_i =1 if currency used in the bidding is USD)

3. Countries or territories shall be selected for sampling in a manner that satisfies all following requirements simultaneously:

a) Countries or territories must hold bidding for the equivalent frequency band within 5 years prior to the date on which basic fee is to be determined; in case of failure to guarantee 3 samples within 5 years, expand the sampling window to 7 years and later 10 years;  

b) Frequency band that wins the bidding must be permitted for use for at least 10 years;

c) The bidding for use right of frequency band must take place on a nationwide scale; samples from countries or territories selected via regional bidding must not be used.

Vietnam: What are requirements for figure collection for identification of basic fee when using information on winning bid for frequency band in countries and territories?

Pursuant to Clause 4 Article 4 of the Decree 88/2021/NĐ-CP stipulating requirements for figure collection for identification of basic fee when using information on winning bid for frequency band in countries and territories as follows:

a) Figures on winning bid amount, bandwidth, and use period of frequency band of countries or territories shall be gathered from sources publicized by regulatory authorities of said countries or territories;

b) Figures regarding population, gross domestic product per capital (GDP/capita) of countries or territories and Vietnam shall be collected from official website of the World Bank. Case figures of countries or territories are not available on database of World Bank, collect figures from regulatory authorities of said countries or territories;

c) Figures regarding exchange rate of currency of countries or territories shall be gathered on x-rates.com. In case the website x-rates.com does not provide figures, consult website specialized in providing exchange rate. Figures on central exchange rate of VND and USD shall be collected from website of the State Bank of Vietnam;

dd) Figures regarding CPI in countries or territories shall be gathered from website of International Monetary Fund (IMF) based on CPI communication figures, in case CPI communication figures are not available, collect CPI all items. Case figures of countries or territories are not available on database of IMF, collect figures from regulatory authorities of said countries or territories.

What are methods for collecting fee for licensing use right of radio frequency in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 7 of the Decree 88/2021/NĐ-CP stipulating methods for collecting fee for licensing use right of radio frequency in Vietnam as follows:

1. Ministry of Information and Communications shall organize collecting fee for licensing use right of radio frequency and submit to state budget.

2. In case of extending use license, at least 6 months prior to expiry date of the use license, Ministry of Information and Communications shall issue written notice on fee for licensing use right of radio frequency to be submitted, deadline for submission, and methods of submitting to allow enterprises to acknowledge in advance as per the law. At least 60 days prior to expiry date of the license, enterprises must submit all fee for licensing use right of radio frequency for the extended period at once.

3. For cases of bidding for use right of radio frequency, Ministry of Information and Communications shall issue written notice on fee to be submitted, deadline for submission, and methods of submission to allow enterprises to submit fee for licensing use right of radio frequency. Within 4 months from the date on which the notice is issued, enterprises must submit all fee for licensing use right of radio frequency at once, except for cases under Clause 4 of this Article.

4. In case of bidding for frequency band for developing and applying technology that effectively utilizes radio frequency prioritized and encouraged according to decisions of Prime Minister on the basis of propositions of Minister of Information and Communications, enterprises must submit fee for licensing use right of radio frequency as follows:

a) Within 3 months from the date on which notice is issued, enterprises must submit 50% of the fee for licensing use right of radio frequency at once and submit commitment of security of credit institutions and branches of foreign banks established according to regulations and law of Vietnam for the unpaid fee for guarantee compliance with Point b and Point c of this Clause;

b) Within 18 months from the date on which written notice is issued, enterprises must submit another 25% of the fee for licensing use right of radio frequency at once;

c) Within 36 months from the date on which written notice is issued, enterprises must submit the remaining 25% of the fee for licensing use right of radio frequency at once.

5. Enterprises that fail to submit fee for licensing use right of radio frequency under Clause 2, Clause 3, and Point a Clause 4 of this Article adequately shall not be issued with use license for radio frequency. For enterprises that win the bidding, Minister of Information and Communications shall annul Decision approving bidding results.

Best regards!