On the afternoon of February 16, in an interview with Dân trí, Mr. Trần Đăng Sơn, Director of Ninh Binh Power Company, confirmed that the company had removed two SCTV cable nodes located on power poles under its management.
Ninh Binh Power Company removed two SCTV cables due to long-standing unpaid pole rental fees (Photo: Thanh Bình).
The Director of Ninh Binh Power Company further explained that after removing the two SCTV cable nodes, the company’s staff reconnected them.
Mr. Trần Đăng Sơn stated that the removal of the two SCTV cable nodes was due to the company’s failure to pay pole rental fees for several months and even years.
Previously, from December 28, 2024, to February 7, Ninh Binh Power Company sent multiple notices to SCTV requesting payment for outstanding amounts from 2024 (as per the contract agreement to pay by December 31, 2024), but received no response.
Most recently, on February 7, Ninh Binh Power Company sent a notice to SCTV stating: “If the party renting the poles does not settle the remaining amount from 2024 by February 15, the lessor will officially remove the cables.”
The removed SCTV cables were reconnected by Ninh Binh Power Company on February 16 (Photo: Thanh Bình).
“By the end of February 15, we still did not receive any response from the party renting the poles. Therefore, on February 16, the company instructed employees to remove the two cable nodes,” Mr. Sơn said.
According to Mr. Sơn, following feedback from the lessee and directives from Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), Ninh Binh Power Company promptly restored the two cable nodes, ensuring SCTV services were no longer disrupted.
“After reconnecting the cable nodes, Ninh Binh Power Company continues to request the contracting party renting the poles to maintain timely coordination for direct discussions. SCTV is also required to respond in writing regarding any issues arising as per the terms of the signed contract,” Mr. Sơn added.
Earlier, according to VTV (vtv.vn), at 9:14 AM on February 16, Ninh Binh Power Company directed two teams to execute the order to cut cables belonging to Saigontourist Cable Television (SCTV) – a joint venture of Vietnam Television.
Location of the power pole where Ninh Binh Power Company removed SCTV cables (Photo: VTV).
According to VTV, Ninh Binh Power Company cut the Ninh Binh to Kim Sơn optical fiber trunk line, causing signal loss at five nodes in Hoa Lư city and ten nodes in Kim Sơn, affecting 1,500 customers.
Subsequently, the power company also cut the Ninh Binh to Hà Nam trunk line, resulting in signal loss for 100 customers and disrupting the trunk line leased to Mobifone. In total, 1,600 customers and enterprise clients, including Mobifone, were affected.
“The action by Ninh Binh Power Company to cut SCTV cables caused widespread service disruptions for SCTV and significantly impacted the rights of citizens and businesses using SCTV services; it also caused property damage and severely affected the reputation of Vietnam Television and SCTV,” VTV emphasized.
