Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) reportedly plans to require foreign businesses who want to provide domestic satellite telecoms services to have a gateway station located in the country.
According to VNA, the new requirement is included in a draft decree that provides articles and measures to implement the upcoming Law on Telecommunications 2023. The law will classify satellite broadband services such as Starlink as cross-border services.
Under the new proposed regulations, which update the previous Law on Telecommunications 2009, foreign satellite service providers must ensure that all traffic generated by satellite subscriber terminals in Vietnam must pass through a local ground gateway connected to the public telecoms network.
They must also meet capital and investment conditions. For example, contributed charter capital must be at least VND30 billion (US$1.2 million USD), and total investment capital in the network must be at least VND100 billion in the first three years, the report said.
Foreign satellite service providers must also have a commercial agreement with a licensed domestic telecommunications enterprise, and have a technical plan to ensure information security, perform emergency prevention, and shut off services when ordered to do so by relevant state agencies.
The report said that the MIC considers cross-border satellite communications to be a risk in terms of data from Vietnamese internet users being collected abroad and used illegally.
The draft decree is open for comments until early April. The new telecoms law is scheduled to will take effect from July 1.
