The Ministry of Information and Communication has requested the Military Telecom Corporation - Viettel - to stop the “Internet for education” program for violating regulations on telecom charge management and promotion.

Sources from the Ministry of Information and Communications said that the Department of Telecommunication has told Viettel to stop the program to provide a fiber optic Internet connection for the education sector in the northern province of Ha Nam, called FTTH EDU.

The agency said that the program violates the regulations on price management and promotion in the field of telecommunications.

Reportedly, Viettel not only has to stop this program in Ha Nam, but also across the country, and to report on this issue to the Ministry.

Viettel told the media that the FTTH EDU program was launched for the goal of accelerating the application of information technology in education, on the basis of successfully implementing the education network project under an agreement between Viettel and the Ministry of Education and Training, signed this May.

Under the agreement, the two sides work together to promote IT applications, Internet connection in education and training, which is a sponsoring program, not a promotion one, according to the view of Viettel.

Viettel also said that the total number of subscribers under this program in Ha Nam is only 71.

FTTH EDU is a high-speed Internet service package with charges of VND440,000 ($20) per month for schools.

One package is available for 15-18 computers. The users are also exempted from installation fees and are provided with a free wireless 4-port modem. If schools pay charges for six consecutive months, they will enjoy free charges for an extra two months.