The Telecommunications Law 24/2023/QH14, in force from 1 July 2024, does two seemingly opposite things at once: it pulls OTT services, data centres and cloud computing into State regulation, yet opens those very segments fully to foreign capital. Reading that paradox correctly is the key for technology investors entering Vietnam.
The core novelty: three service types named for the first time
The 2023 Law clearly defines three service groups that previously sat in a grey zone: basic telecommunications services on the Internet (OTT messaging and calling platforms such as Zalo or WhatsApp when supplied into Vietnam), data centre services and cloud computing services — all three confirmed as telecommunications services with their own rights and obligations. Providers of these services need no telecom licence; they register and notify service provision under Article 41 of the law and Government guidance, while owing duties on user-data protection, cybersecurity and service-quality publication. Cross-border supply into Vietnam is also within scope — no longer a legal vacuum.
Foreign ownership: 100 percent for OTT, data and cloud — conditions stay for networks
The breakthrough sits in Articles 28 and 29 of the law: investment in basic Internet telecom services, data centre services and cloud computing carries no limit on foreign ownership ratio — a 100% foreign-owned company is lawful for these three segments. By contrast, traditional network-infrastructure telecom services remain subject to market-access conditions under Vietnam’s international commitments (joint-venture form and ownership ceilings for facilities-based basic services). Investors must draw their service boundary carefully: a platform that both supplies OTT and sells infrastructure connectivity will face two different openness regimes for its two halves.
5G spectrum and competition: auctioning frequency-use rights
The law consolidates allocation of radio frequencies through auction and competitive selection of use rights for commercially valuable bands, replacing purely administrative assignment — Vietnam’s 5G bands have been auctioned since 2024 under this mechanism, reshaping operators’ input-cost structure. Alongside, the law completes rules on telecom infrastructure sharing, wholesale services and competition management in markets with dominant players. For investors in passive infrastructure (towers, stations, shared ducts), this segment carries a sharing-and-leasing-friendly frame with fewer ownership barriers than active network services.
Frequently asked questions
What is new in the 2023 Telecommunications Law?
The most important group of changes: naming and regulating basic Internet telecom services (OTT), data centre services and cloud computing as telecom service types; moving them to a registration and notification regime instead of licensing; removing foreign-ownership limits for these three segments; and consolidating auctions of radio-frequency use rights for high-value bands such as 5G.
How are OTT services like Zalo and WhatsApp managed?
Under the 2023 Telecommunications Law, basic Internet telecom services (OTT) are within regulatory scope: providers, including cross-border suppliers into Vietnam, must register and notify service provision and comply with duties on data protection, user information and cybersecurity. These are no longer services outside the law as in the earlier period, but the management mechanism is notification, not appraised licensing like traditional telecoms.
What is the foreign ownership ratio in telecoms?
There is a clear split: basic Internet telecom services, data centres and cloud computing carry no foreign-ownership limit — investors may set up 100% foreign-owned companies (Articles 28 and 29 of the 2023 Telecommunications Law). Network-infrastructure telecom services still follow market-access conditions and international commitments, typically the joint-venture form with an ownership ceiling for facilities-based basic services.
How are 5G frequency bands auctioned?
Frequency-use rights for commercially valuable bands are allocated by auction or competitive selection under the 2023 Telecommunications Law and guiding texts, replacing administrative assignment. Vietnam’s 5G bands have been auctioned since 2024; a business seeking 5G spectrum must be a telecom enterprise meeting licensing conditions and the financial and technical capacity of each auction round’s file.
FLAT Law Firm — FLAT Law Firm advises on telecom and digital-service investment: drawing the OTT, data-centre and cloud boundary under the 2023 Telecommunications Law, registration and notification, and ownership conditions.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council