CIRCULAR
Rules on management and provision of services for assisting in searching for fixed telephone numbers through telecommunications networks
MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
Pursuant to the Law on Telecommunications dated November 23, 2009;
BASED ON THE GOVERNMENT DECREE NO. 187/2007/NĐ-CP OF DECEMBER 25, 2007 ON THE FUNCTIONS, TASKS, POWERS, AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS;
Based on Decision No. 191/2004/QĐ-TTg dated November 8, 2004 of the Government Prime Minister regarding the establishment, organization, and operation of the Vietnam Telecommunications Public Service Fund;
At the proposal of the Director of the Telecommunications Department,
c) Enterprises may be granted permission for no more than one block out of the total three dual-frequency blocks (FDD) B
PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope of Regulation
This Circular stipulates the management and provision of services for assisting in searching for fixed telephone numbers (wireless, wired) through telecommunications networks to ensure the provision to users of telephone services (fixed, mobile) the ability to search for fixed telephone numbers managed by telecommunications enterprises and registered in public telephone directories.
Article 2. Applicability
This Circular applies to:
a) Telecommunications enterprises;
b) Enterprises providing services for assisting in searching for fixed telephone numbers;
c) Vietnam Telecommunications Public Service Fund;
d) Departments of Information and Communications;
đ) Organizations and individuals using services for assisting in searching for fixed telephone numbers.
1. TELEVISION VIEWER INDEX IS THE PERCENTAGE (%) OF THE NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS WATCHING A TELEVISION PROGRAM CHANNEL OR A TELEVISION PROGRAM OVER THE TOTAL NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS WITH TELEVISION SIGNAL RECEIVERS IN THE TELEVISION VIEWER MEASUREMENT SCOPE DURING A SPECIFIED TIME PERIOD.
In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:
1. Service 116 is a service for assisting in searching for fixed telephone numbers through telecommunications networks when users of telephone services (fixed, mobile) call the number of the assistance service and provide relevant information about the name or address of the subscriber, they will be informed of the fixed telephone number to be searched.
2. An enterprise providing services for assisting in searching for fixed telephone numbers (hereinafter referred to as the enterprise providing service 116) is an enterprise established under Vietnamese law, which has been granted a telecommunications license by the Ministry of Information and Communications to provide service 116.
3. The service 116 provision system is a collection of equipment (including hardware, software, and databases) interconnected to collect, process, store, and exchange information for the provision of service 116.
4. Point of Interconnection (POI) is a point located on the connection line between the switchboard of a telecommunications enterprise (hereinafter referred to as the interconnection switchboard) and the service 116 provision system of the enterprise providing service 116, delineating economic and technical responsibility boundaries between the telecommunications enterprise and the enterprise providing service 116.
5. E1 trunk is a basic rate digital trunk with a speed of 2048kb/s as defined in Recommendation ITU-T G.701 of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
6. Service 116 database is a database of fixed telephone subscribers including information about the name, address, and telephone number of the subscriber and other related information serving the provision of service 116.
Article 4. Principles of Management and Provision of Services
1. Ensuring the provision of services 24 hours/day, 7 days/week.
2. Ensuring equality, fairness, and non-discrimination against telecommunications enterprises and service users.
3. Ensuring the safety and confidentiality of personal information of service users in accordance with Article 6 of the Telecommunications Law.
4. Service 116 shall be provided by one enterprise and use a common database nationwide.
Chapter II
MANAGEMENT, PROVISION AND USE OF SERVICES
Article 5. Service Number
The Ministry of Information and Communications stipulates that number 116 is the service number for assisting in searching for fixed telephone numbers through telecommunications networks nationwide.
Article 6. Routing Calls
All calls to number 116 (hereinafter referred to as call 116) from users through telephone networks (fixed-line, mobile) of all telecommunications enterprises throughout the country must be routed to the 116 service provision system.
Article 7. Connection and Signaling
1. The geographical location of the connection point for call 116 shall be any technically feasible point on the telecommunications network.
2. The location of the connection point within the network structure is the trunk gateway of the connecting switches.
3. The interface for connection is the E1 trunk or other interfaces as prescribed by the Ministry of Information and Communications.
4. The number of connection points shall be agreed upon by telecommunications enterprises and 116 service provision enterprises.
5. Use signaling C7 to connect between the 116 service provision system and the connecting switches of telecommunications enterprises.
Article 8. Service Quality
1. Voice quality criteria according to industry standard TCN 68-176:2006.
2. Average waiting time from successful connection until customer response information is provided shall not exceed 30 seconds per call.
3. Successful call establishment rate shall be greater than 85%.
4. Successful assistance call rate shall be greater than 95%.
Article 9. Tariff
1. Free charges for calls to 116 from fixed-line telephones.
2. Tariff for calls to 116 from mobile telephones shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Article 10. Database for 116 Services
1. Storage and Use:
The 116 service provision enterprise updates and stores in the 116 service database information about fixed-line telephone subscribers (wireless, wired) registered in the public telephone directories of telecommunications enterprises (excluding subscribers in service usage contracts that request non-registration of subscriber information).
2. Content of the 116 service database provided to the 116 service provision enterprise includes:
a) Subscriber name (organization, individual);
b) Installation address of the subscriber: province (city), district (township), commune (ward), village (residential group), street (if applicable), house number (if applicable);
c) Telephone number;
d) Other information serving the provision of 116 services as prescribed by the Ministry of Information and Communications.
3. The format of the 116 service database is unique and uniform as prescribed by the 116 service provision enterprise. The database file transferred by telecommunications enterprises to the 116 service provision enterprise shall be agreed upon by both parties.
The 116 service provision enterprise must convert the database file received from telecommunications enterprises into a unified database format.
4. Method of providing the 116 service database shall be agreed upon by the 116 service provision enterprise and telecommunications enterprises, which may include: online via network transmission, via hard drive, via CD, magnetic tape, etc.
5. Telecommunications enterprises shall transfer the database of changed fixed-line telephone subscribers twice a month (on the 5th and 20th of each month) to the 116 service provision enterprise compared to the previous transfer.
For the initial transfer, telecommunications enterprises shall provide the entire 116 service database to the 116 service provision enterprise within 45 days from the date the 116 service provision enterprise is granted permission by the Ministry of Information and Communications to provide 116 services.
Chapter III
BIDDING, ORDERING AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Article 11. Tendering and Ordering for Service Provision
1. The selection of enterprises providing service 116 shall be carried out through the following forms and in the following priority order:
a) Tendering;
b) Ordering.
In cases where conditions for organizing a tender to supply service 116 as prescribed by law are not met, the Ministry of Information and Communications will designate an enterprise to place an order.
2. Conditions for enterprises participating in tendering or being ordered to provide service 116: Vietnamese enterprises established and operating under the Law on Enterprises, independently accounting for business operations.
Article 12. Service Provision Contract
The provision of service 116 shall be implemented through a Service Provision Contract 116 signed between the Vietnam Universal Telecommunications Service Fund and the Enterprise Providing Service 116. This contract may be either a Turnkey Contract or an Order Contract.
Article 13. Financial Support Methods
1. Loan:
a) The Vietnam Universal Telecommunications Service Fund provides preferential loans to enterprises providing service 116 for new construction, upgrading, and expanding the service 116 system;
b) The loan mechanism for enterprises providing service 116 shall be implemented according to the preferential loan regulations of the Vietnam Universal Telecommunications Service Fund.
2. Non-repayable financial support:
a) Partially subsidizing intercity call charges for calls to service 116 from fixed telephones for telecommunications enterprises;
b) Partially subsidizing the cost of providing service 116 for enterprises providing service 116.
Article 14. Financial Support Costs
1. Financial support costs equal (=) the volume of service 116 multiplied (x) by the support rate.
2. The volume of service 116 is calculated based on the number of calls (or minutes) from fixed telephones to service 116.
3. Support rate:
a) In cases where a tender is conducted to select the enterprise providing service 116: The support rate is applied based on the tender results approved by the Ministry of Information and Communications;
b) In cases where an order is placed for the enterprise providing service 116: The support rate is issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications.
4. Source of financial support costs: Drawn from the financial support fund for providing universal telecommunications services managed by the Vietnam Universal Telecommunications Service Fund.
Chapter IV
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MANAGING, PROVIDING, AND USING SERVICE 116
Article 15. Enterprises Providing Service 116
1. Establish (lease or construct) intra-city and long-distance trunk lines to connect the service 116 system with the switchboards of telecommunications enterprises.
2. Purchase service 116 traffic from telecommunications enterprises in cases where trunk lines are not established.
3. Divide the call charge for service 116 from mobile phone numbers according to the regulations of the Ministry of Information and Communications.
4. Negotiate with telecommunications enterprises regarding the method of providing and using the service 116 database to offer other services.
5. Invest in constructing, organizing operation, and ensuring safe operation of the service 116 system and guarantee the provision of service 116 to users in accordance with the quality standards stipulated in this Circular.
6. Have the responsibility to assist in searching for all fixed telephone numbers (wireless, wired) of telecommunications enterprises registered in the public telephone directory.
7. Must have at least two (2) service 116 systems located in two (2) different provinces or cities nationwide for backup purposes, ensuring the safety of the service 116 system.
8. Develop a service 116 management program, update and store fixed telephone subscriber data provided by telecommunications enterprises into the service 116 database they manage and secure the service 116 database.
9. Establish an electronic information page about service 116 to facilitate organizations and individuals with internet access to search for information about fixed telephone numbers similar to the method of searching by calling the service 116 number.
10. Ensure the security and confidentiality of personal information of service users in accordance with the law.
11. Implement the provision of service 116 in accordance with the service provision contract.
12. Take the lead in disseminating and promoting regulations on service 116.
13. Be the focal point for resolving customer complaints regarding the provision and use of service 116.
14. Report to the Ministry of Information and Communications periodically or at any time when required on management and service provision contents of service 116.
Article 16. Telecommunications enterprises
1. May negotiate with service providers of service 116 on the method of providing and using the database of service 116 to provide other services.
2. Provide trunk gateways for connection to service providers of service 116 to connect with the service 116 provision system, ensuring sufficient connection capacity and timely connection.
3. Coordinate with service providers of service 116 to ensure the quality of service 116 in accordance with regulations.
4. Route calls to the service 116 provision system.
5. Provide the service 116 database fully and promptly in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.
6. Report to the Ministry of Information and Communications periodically or at any time when requested about matters related to the management and provision of service 116.
Article 17. Users of service 116
1. Are provided with complete and accurate information about the service 116 they use.
2. Lodge complaints in accordance with regulations regarding errors in the provision of service 116.
3. Shall be held responsible under the law and subject to penalties for acts of disruption, destruction, and obstruction of the provision and use of service 116.
Chapter V
IMPLEMENTATION
Article 18. Ministry of Information and Communications
1. Issue and guide the implementation of regulations on tendering and ordering the provision of service 116.
2. Approve tender plans and tender results or designate orders
to select service providers of service 116.
3. Manage the quality of service 116 based on the quality standards set forth in Article 8 of this Circular.
4. Inspect, audit, handle violations, and resolve complaints and reports in management and service provision activities of service 116 within their authority.
Article 19. Vietnam Telecommunications Public Service Fund
1. Organize tenders, place orders, and sign contracts for the provision of service 116 with service providers of service 116 in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Information and Communications.
2. Implement financial support for service providers of service 116 and telecommunications enterprises in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.
Article 20. Departments of Information and Communications
1. Carry out state management functions over the management and provision of service 116 within their jurisdiction.
2. Take the lead and coordinate with service providers of service 116 and telecommunications enterprises within their jurisdiction to promote and guide the use of service 116 in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.
3. Audit, inspect, handle violations, and resolve complaints and reports in management and service provision activities of service 116 within their jurisdiction within their authority.
Chapter VI
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS
Article 21. Effectiveness and Implementation Organization
1. This Circular takes effect from July 1, 2010.
2. The Director of the Ministry's Office, the Heads of the Department of Telecommunications, the Heads of the Department of Planning and Finance, the Director of the Vietnam Telecommunications Public Service Fund, the Heads of agencies and units under the Ministry, the Directors of Departments of Information and Communications, the General Directors and Directors of telecommunications enterprises, the Directors of enterprises providing service 116, and relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Circular.
3. In the course of implementation, if any difficulties arise, the relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals must promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Information and Communications for review and resolution./.