DECISION

APPROVING THE UP-TO-2020 PLANNING FOR RADIO AND TELEVISION WAVE TRANSMISSION AND BROADCASTING

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
Pursuant to the May 25, 2002 Ordinance on Post and Telecommunications;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 160/2004/ND-CP of September 3, 2004, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Ordinance on Post and Telecommunications, regarding telecommunications;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 187/2007/ND-CP of December 25, 2007, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Information and Communication;
Pursuant to the Prime Ministers Decision No. 219/2005/QD-TTg of September 9, 2005, approving the strategy on information development till 2010;
At the proposal of the Minister of Information and Communication,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the up-to-2020 planning on radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting with the following principal contents:

I. OBJECTIVES

1. To expand domestic and international radio and television wave coverage, especially programs of the Radio Voice of Vietnam and Vietnam Television Station, aiming to property serve the political, external, defense and security tasks of the Party and the State (below collectively referred to as political tasks) and provide the vast majority of people at home and Vietnamese communities overseas with diverse, rich and high-quality radio and television services, suitable to the demand and income of every one.

...

...

...

3. To step up the change of wave transmission and broadcasting infrastructure from analog technology to digital technology, aiming to raise service quality, increase the number of program channels, diversify service types and raise the frequency resource-using efficiency.

4. To step by step create and develop a wave transmission and broadcasting market based on the participation of state enterprises or joint-stock companies in which the State holds dominant shares in order to attract resources for the development of radio and television wave technical infrastructure in service of socio-economic development, ensuring the State's unified and effective management.

II. DEVELOPMENT TARGETS

1. By 2010:

a/ The terrestrial television wave will cover 95% of the population;

b/ The AM-FM radio wave will cover 100% of the population, ensuring that almost all households can tune in frequency bands and listen to popular programs.

2. By 2015:

a/ The terrestrial television wave will cover 100% of the population, ensuring that almost all households can receive and watch popular television programs;

b/ The cable television networks will be deployed in 100% of the centers of provinces and centrally run cities.

...

...

...

a/ To step by step digitalize the terrestrial television wave transmission and broadcasting networks suitable to peopled practical conditions on digital television receivers in each specific area. Basically, the analog technology-based terrestrial television wave broadcasting will stop and be replaced by digital technology-based terrestrial television wave broadcasting when 95% of households can afford television sets capable of receiving popular television channels and programs by different modes of wave transmission and broadcasting;

b/ To stop using the cable television analog technology before 2020 for full shift to digital technology with 100% cable networks laid underground along main roads and streets in provincial and municipal centers;

c/ Digital technology will be widely applied to radio wave transmission and broadcasting;

d/ To satisfy the demands of most households in deep-lying, remote, mountainous regions and islands for being supplied with digital radio and television receivers at reasonable prices.

III. DEVELOPMENT ORIENTATIONS

1. Networks

a/ Terrestrial radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting networks

To realize the roadmap of digitalization of radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting in each period:

- From now to 2010:

...

...

...

To formulate policies, measures and roadmaps for the shift to digital wave transmission and broadcasting; to make investment in digital wave transmission and broadcasting systems in an order based on the principle that highly developed areas struck with frequency scarcity will make the shift first and economically difficult areas later;

Radio and television stations, units and enterprises engaged in wave transmission and broadcasting activities shall coordinate in jointly using infrastructure facilities, including buildings, stations, electricity sources, cable tanks, especially antenna towers, in order to ensure efficient and convenient radio and television wave coverage so that people can receive and watch different program channels;

Local radio and television stations are encouraged to use digital wave transmission and broadcasting networks already established by units or enterprises in their respective localities so as to broadcast local programs to users.

- From 2010 to 2015:

Units and enterprises licensed to establish digital radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting network infrastructure shall continue to expand digital radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting coverage in urban, delta as well as densely populated areas while further investing in expanding digital wave coverage to rural and mountainous areas;

Units and enterprises licensed to establish networks and provide digital radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting services and local radio and television stations shall continue broadcasting in parallel digital and analog program channels in their geographical areas. Localities fully satisfying the prescribed conditions are encouraged to stop broadcasting analog television waves and completely shift to digital radio and television broadcasting on transmission and broadcasting infrastructures of the licensed units or enterprises;

For deep-lying, remote, mountainous and island regions and areas meeting with difficulties in building and developing terrestrial digital radio and television networks, schemes should be realized for use of radio and television programs via satellites in combination of relay transmitters of appropriate capacity in order to attain the coverage targets.

- From 2015 to 2020:

Units and enterprises licensed to establish digital radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting network infrastructure shall coordinate in investment and construction of terrestrial digital transmission and broadcasting systems in rural, deep-lying, remote, mountainous and island regions;

...

...

...

Local radio and television stations shall coordinate with units and enterprises licensed to establish networks and provide digital radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting services in their areas in step by step transmitting all radio and television program channels on digital wave transmission and broadcasting infrastructure;

To executive projects on production and supply of low-price digital television receivers to households. To limit and proceed to indefinitely cease the import and investment in production of analog transmitters;

To basically terminate terrestrial radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting based on analog technology before 2020. To encourage the complete shift of radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting from analog technology to digital technology before 2020.

- Planning on frequency bands for terrestrial radio and television broadcasting systems:

+ MF band (526.25-1.606.5 KHz): AM radio broadcasting, digital radio broadcasting;

+ VHF band I (54-68 MHz): small-scale FM radio broadcasting, digital radio broadcasting;

+ VHF band II (87-108 MHz): FM radio broadcasting, digital radio broadcasting;

+ VHF band III (174-230 MHz): analog television broadcasting, digital television and radio broadcasting;

+ UHF band (470-806 MHz): analog and digital technology-based terrestrial television broadcasting. According to the digitalization roadmap, part of this frequency band will be transferred to other radio information operations;

...

...

...

b/ Cable radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting networks

- For wired cable radio and television:

The cable radio and television networks will be developed towards increased use of optical fiber cable and higher underground cable rate in order to ensure service quality and urban beauty, especially along main roads and streets in the heart of big cities;

The cable radio and television networks are capable of transmitting radio, television, telecommunications and Internet signals on a unified infrastructure, according to the trend of technological and service convergence.

- For MMDS television:

To immediately stop investing in the development of MMDS subscriptions on 2.5-2.69 GHz frequency band, then proceed to completely terminate the use of MMDS systems on this frequency band before 2010, which will be used for mobile services and wide-band radio access under the Resolution of International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the national radio frequency distribution plan approved by the Prime Minister;

Organizations, radio and television stations that are exploiting the MMDS system on the 2.5-2.69 GHz frequency band shall work out plans for use of other substitute modes by their customers.

c/ Satellite radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting networks

- To combine the radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting via satellites with relay stations of appropriate capacities and use, of digital receivers to transmit radio and television broadcasts to wave-dead regions, especially deep-lying, remote, mountainous and island areas;

...

...

...

- To combine the use of Vietnamese satellite (Vinasat) and other regional and international satellite systems for radio and television coverage in service of foreign news services.

d/ Radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting via mobile networks and Internet

To boost the development of radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting via mobile networks and Internet in order to satisfy the information and entertainment demands of a majority of telecommunications subscribers and at the same time serve the foreign news services, especially for Vietnamese communities overseas.

2. Technology and standards

a/ To research and test digital radio broadcasting technologies in order to select digital radio broadcasting standards for Vietnam by 2010; to formulate feasible schemes for the shift from analog radio broadcasting to digital radio broadcasting: to elaborate a roadmap for Vietnam's shift to digital radio broadcasting;

b/ To establish Vietnamese terrestrial digital television standards, based on the application of the set of terrestrial digital television European standards (DVB-T) and subsequent reproduction for application to terrestrial digital television in Vietnam; to further study and assess other systems of terrestrial television standards for selection of a proper digital television broadcasting system of Vietnam in the future;

c/ To step up the application of wide-band mobile technologies (IMT-2000) and subsequent new technologies for development of mobile radio and television services;

d/ To step by step develop Internet protocol television technology (IPTV) high-definition television technology (HDTV);

e/ Units and enterprises licensed to establish and exploit radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting systems shall ensure that their systems are designed and installed in accordance with regulations, standards and technical norms to ensure service quality and cause no interferences to other communications systems.

...

...

...

a/ Signal transmission services:

- Radio and television stations may hire via-optical fiber cable, microwave or satellite transmission services of units or enterprises licensed to provide transmission services for transmission of their programs to relay transmitters, aiming to cover deep-lying, remote, mountainous and island regions and areas where terrestrial radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting infrastructure cannot reach yet;

- Radio and television stations may directly establish and exploit microwave or satellite transmission modes for news gathering systems (SNG).

b/ Popular broadcasting services:

- To prioritize the development of terrestrial television services in delta and midland regions; to develop cable and mobile radio and television services in urban centers and densely populated areas; to increase the use of satellite radio and television services in combination with small-and medium-sized relay stations in deep-lying, remote, mountainous and island regions;

- Units and enterprises licensed to provide terrestrial digital radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting as well as cable radio and television services and having executed projects in any localities shall reserve time volumes for transmission of a radio and television program of such localities and radio and television programs in service of political tasks of national radio and television stations according to the State's regulations;

- Local radio and television stations having adequate program channels and broadcasting time volumes according to regulations will be licensed for use of transmitters and radio frequencies to transmit their programs to listeners or viewers. Local radio and television stations not yet fully qualified for use of transmitters and radio frequencies may select units or enterprises licensed to provide terrestrial digital radio and television services for transmission of a program in service of political tasks according to the State's regulations and hire popular broadcasting services of units or enterprises licensed to provide broadcasting services for transmission of other radio and television programs (if any) to listeners or viewers through bilateral economic contracts;

- To develop popular broadcasting services via satellites, especially Vinasat, in order to provide DTH services throughout Vietnam and countries under wave coverage.

4. Market

...

...

...

- Supplying information contents, and editing and producing programs of radio and television stations comply with the Press Law and the radio and television planning;

- Wave transmission and broadcasting activities of wave transmission and broadcasting service-providing units and enterprises comply with the law on telecommunications, radio frequencies and the wave transmission and broadcasting planning;

- Units and enterprises may perform either or both functions mentioned above, based on their respective functions and tasks.

b/ To clearly distinguish between the use of radio wave transmission and broadcasting infrastructure in service of political tasks assigned by the State and the use of such infrastructure for other purposes in order to adopt appropriate financial, investment and frequency-resource mechanisms aiming to boost the development of the wave transmission and broadcasting market:

- Radio and television program channels in service of political tasks assigned by the State will be distributed with a rational information resource proportion suitable to the digitalization roadmap and enjoy preferential charges for use of radio frequencies;

- Financial and investment incentive policies compliable with law will be adopted so that radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting service-providing enterprises have conditions to reduce channel rentals while measures will be worked out to manage and control channel rentals set by enterprises holding dominant market shares.

c/ To mobilize social resources for the development of a radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting market towards specialization and professionalism while ensuring the stable and effective operation of systems transmitting or broadcasting program channels in service of political tasks of local and national radio and television stations;

d/ To formulate management mechanisms and conditions for licensing the establishment of networks and provisions of radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting services within a province, city or region or the whole country on the following principles:

- To well serve the political tasks assigned by the State; to ensure transmission and broadcasting network safety and security, efficient use of national frequency resources, reasonable competition and efficient investment of units and enterprises. In the 2010-2020 period, there will be at most 7 or 8 units or enterprises in Vietnam that provide terrestrial digital radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting services, including 2 or 3 units or enterprises providing services nationwide, while the rest mainly providing services in a region (one or a number of provinces, cities);

...

...

...

- To boost the development of a via-satellite radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting market on the basis of ensuring reasonable rents of Vietnamese satellite Vinasat volumes, which are competitive to the volume rents of regional satellites; to prioritize the grant of licenses for the provision of via-satellite radio and television services to units and enterprises conducting wave transmission and broadcasting activities nationwide.

IV. SOLUTIONS

1. To raise and unify awareness, step up information and propagation:

a/ To raise and unify awareness about, step up information and propagation on. the viewpoints, targets, orientations and contents of this planning through the mass media, conferences and seminars to all agencies, units and enterprises operating in radio and television- related domains and to every citizen;

b/ To edit and develop programs and documents aiming to intensify the dissemination and communication on the necessity, benefits, roadmap and models of shifting to digital radio and television to administrators at all levels and people.

2. To improve mechanisms, policies and law:

a/ To elaborate and revise laws, regulations and planning related to the radio and television domains:

- To elaborate and revise the Law on Telecommunications, the Press Law, the Law on Radio Frequencies, telecommunications planning, radio frequency planning, radio and television planning.... aiming to improve the legal environment for further development of radio and television transmission and broadcasting infrastructure;

- To amend regulations on reception of radio and television programs via satellites towards permitting people to buy television receiver only (TVRO) sets for reception of programs from Vinasat with a view to popularizing national and local radio and television broadcasts in geographically difficult areas.

...

...

...

c/ To formulate mechanisms and policies to protect user interests on the basis of strict compliance with regulations on management of standards, quality and charge rates.

3. Organizational reform of radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting activities:

a/ To establish radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting enterprises with large-sized wave transmission and broadcasting infrastructure, capable of providing wave transmission and broadcasting services to all radio and television stations nationwide:

b/ Fully qualified national and local radio and television stations will be allowed to establish wave transmission and broadcasting enterprises under their charge to participate in the market and provide wave transmission and broadcasting services throughout the country or in a region (one or a number of provinces, cities);

c/ To organizationally renew activities of local radio and television stations in line with the roadmap of digitalizing the wave transmission and broadcasting technology in the direction that:

- Local radio and television stations continue performing the function of analog radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting till the complete termination of analog television under the digitalization roadmap;

- From the time of complete termination of analog television, stations still unqualified to be licensed for the establishment of terrestrial digital radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting in their localities will focus mainly on producing program contents.

4. Resource development:

a/ Policies on investment capital raising:

...

...

...

- To study and supplement mechanisms on mobilization and use of the public-utility telecommunication service fund, aiming to accelerate radio and television digitalization, especially to support digital radio and television program reception equipment for people and partially liberalize the frequency bands currently used for terrestrial television for mobile services and wide-band radio access.

b/ Policies on human resource training and fostering:

- To step up the socialization of training and fostering of technicians and skilled laborers in order to meet the requirements of application of high technologies to radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting;

- To improve the training methods and curricula in universities, specialized radio and television technical colleges and at electronics-telecommunications faculties, aiming to develop the contingent of highly professionally qualified engineers.

5. Technological research, development and renewal:

a/ To encourage the transfer of radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting technologies and the purchase of copyright in order to create conditions for the import and development of advanced and modern radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting technologies;

b/ To support the development of technologies to manufacture radio and television transmission and broadcasting equipment, especially digital audio-visual receivers, through prompt formulation and promulgation of technical standards and norms for new transmission and broadcasting technologies.

6. To step up international cooperation:

a/ To step up cooperation with international organizations in the radio and television domains, to exchange and train specialists in radio and television techniques and management;

...

...

...

Article 2. Organization of implementation

1. The Ministry of Information and Communication:

a/ To organize and monitor the implementation of the planning based on the national economic development situation, and submit to the Prime Minister contents to be appropriately updated or adjusted in the planning;

b/ To formulate and submit to the Prime Minister for approval a scheme on digitalization of terrestrial radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting;

c/ To formulate and submit to the Prime Minister for adjustment, supplementation mechanisms to mobilize and use the public-utility telecommunications service fund, aiming to accelerate the radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting digitalization, while attaining the target of developing public-utility telecommunications;

d/ Based on the development situation and demands of the radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting market, to elaborate a system of conditions for licensing the establishment of networks and provision of radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting services in line with the planning on development of radio and television systems and digitalization roadmap while ensuring state management;

e/ To formulate and promulgate national technical standards on radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting; to elaborate and submit to competent bodies for promulgation national technical standards on radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting according to law.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment:

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communication and the Ministry of Finance in, mobilizing capital sources for the development and modernization of radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting systems;

...

...

...

3. The Ministry of Finance:

To elaborate financial and tax mechanisms and policies according to law, aiming to encourage enterprises to manufacture or import digital receivers and transmitters and to provide digital radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting services to materialize the digitalization roadmap.

4. Vietnam Television Station and the Radio Voice of Vietnam:

a/ To construct, further improve and uniformly, directly and comprehensively manage the national radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting systems under their charge for domestic and overseas broadcasting of radio and television programs, especially programs on news and political affairs, science and education, culture, ethnicity, external relations;

b/ To assume the prime responsibility for formulating and implementing projects to expand popular radio and television coverage under their plans already approved by the Prime Minister in order to supply radio and television programs to people; to coordinate with wave transmission and broadcasting units and enterprises as well as radio and television stations in realizing the digitalization roadmap and sharing wave transmission and broadcasting infrastructure;

c/ To formulate a wave transmission and broadcasting planning and digitalization roadmap and renew their organization and operation in line with this planning and their assigned functions and tasks.

5. Provincial-level People's Committees shall implement and direct local radio and television stations to implement the planning, based on the close coordination with national radio and television stations as well as radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting enterprises in their localities for the attainment of the coverage targets, common use of infrastructure and the shift to digital technology in the localities.

6. Units and enterprises licensed to construct radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting network infrastructure and local radio and television stations shall work out development plannings and plans compliant with this planning; and coordinate in realizing the digitalization roadmap and sharing the radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting infrastructure.

Article 3. This Decision lakes effect 45 days from the date of its signing.

...

...

...

PRIME MINISTER




Nguyen Tan Dung

APPENDIX

LIST OF KEY PROJECT GROUPS UNDER THE UP-TO-2020 PLANNING ON RADIO AND TELEVISION WAVE TRANSMISSION AND BROADCASTING
(To the Prime Minister's Decision No. 22/2009/QD-TTg of February 16, 2009)

Project Group I: "Expansion of television coverage to mountainous, deep-lying and remote regions."

Project objectives: To expand television coverage to mountainous, deep-lying and remote regions where people have been unable to watch television, with terrestrial analog radio and television transmission and broadcasting equipment (before 2011) and combination with the use of Vinasat.

Capital source: state budget

...

...

...

Project Group II: "Expansion of radio coverage to mountainous, deep-lying, remote and sea regions."

Project objectives: To enhance strong, stable, non-interrupted and high-quality wave coverage for sea regions and enhance wave coverage for regions without radio program broadcasting in deep-lying and remote provinces with high-quality FM waves (before 2011).

Capital source: state budget.

Implementing units: the Radio Voice of Vietnam and provincial-level radio and television stations.

Project Group III: "Development of terrestrial digital television networks."

Project objectives: To develop terrestrial digital broadcasting systems nationwide and in localities in parallel with the analog broadcasting systems in the transitional period and realize the digitalization roadmap for supply of television programs in service of political tasks assigned by the Slate, meeting the national development requirements while satisfying people's higher and higher cultural needs.

Capital source: state budget, capital of enterprises and other capital sources.

Implementing units: Vietnam Television station, multi-media communications corporation

(VTC) and providers of radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting services.

...

...

...

Project objectives: To develop the national terrestrial digital broadcasting systems in localities in parallel with the analog broadcasting systems in the transitional period and according to the radio broadcasting digitalization roadmap for supply of radio programs in service of political tasks assigned by the State, meeting the national development requirements while satisfying people's higher and higher cultural needs.

Capital source: state budget, capital of enterprises and other capital sources.

Execution units: the Radio Voice of Vietnam and providers of radio and television wave transmission and broadcasting services.

Project Group V: "Manufacture and supply of digital television receivers"

Project objectives: To manufacture and supply digital television receivers at reasonable prices, aiming to enable users in deep-lying, remote, mountainous and island regions to afford digital receivers.

Capital source: state budget, capital of enterprises and other capital sources.

Implementing units: manufacturers of digital radio and television equipment.

Project Group VI: "Development of cable radio and television networks in localities throughout the country."

Project objective: To develop cable radio and television networks in centers of provinces and centrally run cities.

...

...

...

Implementing units: providers of cable television services.-