Circular 04/2024/TT-BTTTT on planning of the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands for Vietnam’s IMT public terrestrial mobile communication systems

CIRCULAR

Planning of the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands for Vietnam’s IMT public terrestrial mobile communication systems

Pursuant to the Law on Radio Frequencies dated November 23, 2009, and the Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on Radio Frequencies dated November 9, 2022;

Pursuant to Decree No. 48/2022/ND-CP dated July 26, 2022, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Information and Communications;

Pursuant to Decision No. 71/2013/QD-TTg dated November 21, 2013, of the Prime Minister promulgating the National Radio Frequency Spectrum Planning; and Decision No. 38/2021/QD-TTg dated December 29, 2021, of the Prime Minister amending and supplementing several articles of Decision No. 71/2013/QD-TTg dated November 21, 2013;

At the proposal of the Director of the Radio Frequency Department;

The Minister of Information and Communications hereby issues the Circular on the planning of the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands for Vietnam’s IMT public terrestrial mobile communication systems.

Article 1. Scope of Application and Applicable Entities

1. Scope of Application:

This Circular provides planning for the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands to deploy Vietnam’s IMT public terrestrial mobile communication systems.

2. Applicable Entities:

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals involved in the management and use of radio frequencies, as well as those manufacturing, importing, and trading radio equipment for use in Vietnam.

Article 2. Planning Details

1. Planning of the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands until September 15, 2026, as follows:

a) The 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands are allocated for the deployment of public terrestrial mobile communication systems according to IMT-2000, IMT-Advanced, IMT-2020 standards, and subsequent versions using Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) transmission methods.

b) The 880-915 MHz frequency band is assigned for uplink, divided into four blocks: B1, B2, B3, and B4, with respective bandwidths of 10 MHz, 8.4 MHz, 8.2 MHz, and 8.2 MHz.

c) The 925-960 MHz frequency band is assigned for downlink, divided into four blocks: B1’, B2’, B3’, and B4’, with respective bandwidths of 10 MHz, 8.4 MHz, 8.2 MHz, and 8.2 MHz.

d) The maximum total bandwidth that an organization is permitted to use within the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands is 2×10 MHz under the FDD method.

dd) Organizations licensed to use the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands are responsible for coordinating with each other to prevent and manage harmful interference.

e) To avoid harmful interference with other authorized radio systems operating in certain areas within the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands, organizations licensed to use these frequency bands must implement technical measures to mitigate harmful interference as guided by the Ministry of Information and Communications (Radio Frequency Department).

2. Planning of the 890-915 MHz and 935-960 MHz frequency bands from September 16, 2026, as follows:

a) The 890-915 MHz and 935-960 MHz frequency bands are allocated for the deployment of public terrestrial mobile communication systems according to IMT-2000, IMT-Advanced, IMT-2020 standards, and subsequent versions using the FDD method.

Public terrestrial mobile communication systems according to the IMT-2000 standard specified in this point shall be used until September 14, 2028.

b) The 890-915 MHz frequency band is assigned for uplink, divided into three blocks: C1, C2, and C3, with respective bandwidths of 10 MHz, 5 MHz, and 10 MHz.

c) The 935-960 MHz frequency band is assigned for downlink, divided into three blocks: C1’, C2’, and C3’, with respective bandwidths of 10 MHz, 5 MHz, and 10 MHz.

d) The maximum total bandwidth that an organization is permitted to use within the 890-915 MHz and 935-960 MHz frequency bands is 2×15 MHz under the FDD method.

dd) Organizations licensed to use the 890-915 MHz and 935-960 MHz frequency bands are responsible for coordinating with each other to prevent and manage harmful interference.

Article 3. Enforcement Provisions

1.   This Circular takes effect from June 24, 2024.

2.   The provisions in Clauses 2.1.4 and 2.2.3 of Article 1 and other related regulations regarding the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands in Decision No. 25/2008/QD-BTTTT dated April 16, 2008, of the Minister of Information and Communications approving the frequency band plan for Vietnam's cellular mobile communication systems in the 821-960 MHz and 1710-2200 MHz frequency bands are hereby repealed.

3.   Regulations related to the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands in Circular No. 04/2017/TT-BTTTT dated April 24, 2017, of the Minister of Information and Communications regulating the deployment of IMT mobile communication systems in the 824-835 MHz, 869-915 MHz, 925-960 MHz, 1710-1785 MHz, 1805-1880 MHz, 1920-1980 MHz, and 2110-2170 MHz frequency bands are hereby repealed.

Article 4. Transitional Provisions

1. Licenses for the use of frequency bands in the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands issued before the effective date of this Circular remain valid until the expiration dates specified in the licenses.

2. Licenses for the use of frequency bands issued under this Circular allow the continued use of existing GSM mobile communication systems in the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands under the following conditions:

a) From September 16, 2024, services for subscriber terminal devices that only support the GSM standard shall not be provided, except for services provided to subscriber terminal devices connecting to the GSM network for the purpose of machine-to-machine (M2M) data transmission or reception or services provided in the Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagos and DK platform areas.

b) GSM services may continue to be used from September 16, 2024, to September 15, 2026, except for services provided in the Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagos and DK platform areas.

Article 5. Implementation Responsibility

1.   The Chief of the Office, the Director General of the Radio Frequency Department, the Heads of agencies and units under the Ministry of Information and Communications, and relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for the implementation of this Circular.

2.   During the implementation process, any difficulties or obstacles should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Information and Communications (Radio Frequency Department) for review and resolution.