VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese mobile service providers have integrated their content applications with sim cards without revealing their activities to customers.

Mobile service providers have integrated their content applications with sim cards to earn money from customers.

The information was given at a meeting on more comprehensive inspections on pre-paid mobile phone services.

According to inspectors from the Ministry of Information and Communications, the IOD application on VinaPhone, Viettel Plus, SuperSIM and LiveInfo, run by MobiFone, are installed on sim cards to allow customers to download information, but at a fee.

The providers do not inform their customers of the fees, and users are not also allowed to confirm their agreements for download services. These activities have been a large revenue source for the mobile service providers.

Between June 2012 and June 2013, Vinaphone made VND20.67 billion (USD980,950) from IOD application fees. VinaPhone has also cooperated with VASC Software Development Company (VASC) to provide http:10.1.10.50/wapmediav2 which allows customers to see and download information, also with fees. Vinaphone earned VND8.95 billion (USD428,570) between July 2012 and May 2013.

MobiFone has cooperated with 17 content service providers to offer services, with charge, earning revenues of VND150.6 billion (USD7.2 billion) between June 2012 and July 2013.

According to the results of an inspection by the Ministry of Information and Communications, despite Circular 04, which applies to pre-paid mobile phone management, which took effect on June 1, 2012, many violations were found. As many as 88% of branches of telecommunications firms were found to have violated the regulation.

In addition, 90% of pre-paid mobile subscriber registrations were found to be in violation.

One of the most common violations was the wrong process for individual information registration and storage. Many subscribers registered under fake names. There were also numerous cases of one identification card being used many times for registration. The Ministry of Information and Communications has handed out fines totaling VND2 billion (USD95,238) from various infractions and has revoked the accounts of around 35,000 pre-paid subscribers.

Source: DTriNews/TP