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Vietnam mobile market shows skyrocketing growth despite economic turmoil (Vietnam)

  • October 7th, 2008
  • 2:34 pm

Within the span of eight months this year Vietnam mobile subcribers reaches the mark of 52.4 million.The mobile penetration rate now stands at around 60 per cent. It is anticipated that the mobile subscribers will grow to 65 million by later this year and mobile penetration will increase to 70 users per 100 people.

Over the last four years cellular market of Vietnam shows fast paced growth, going from four million users by the end of 2004, to 37 million by the end of 2007. Considering its demographic trends it is anticipated that the boom will continue for at least the next five years, and probably longer. “By 2012, we forecast the total 89 million mobile market is achievable in Vietnam. Mobile penetration of about 99 per cent is possible in that timeframe,” said, Roger Barlow, chairman and CEO of RJB Consultants Limited. The factors that leads to growth are:

  • Lower priced handsets and service plans
  • Increased competition among five GSM networks
  • Network expansion into rural areas
  • Convergence between mobile and fixed networks
  • Broadcast capabilities and data usage through 3G deployments

Viettel adds 60,000 new mobile subscribers per day and MobiFone around 40,000 users. Viettel has captured 40% of the market and have become a strong participant

Vietnamese Telcos makes a move to expand GSM networks (Vietnam)

  • October 6th, 2008
  • 10:12 am

Vietnamese Telecommunication sector is undergoing transformation from CDMA to GSM standard. Several networks of Vietnam begins expansion of their fledgling networks. HT Mobile will begin rolling out GSM services in Vietnam within the next few months. The network , which has so far cost more than $600 million to build, will soon be ready after nearly five months of preparation, media reported. In addition, VinaPhone is planning to expand its competing GSM network, and has signed a $28 million contract with Motorola to facilitate this. In December ‘07, Vietnam Posts and Telecoms Group [VPTG] also reached an arrangement with Motorola to expand VPTG’s GSM network. According to a recent report,telcos are nowdays favoring GSM and abandoning CDMA, with the market contracting 25 percent last year. Oddily in the Asia-Pacific region CDMA is still growing steadily but it is anticipated that this region will soon begin trending away from CDMA within the next few years.

VinaPhone-Motorola in deal for the expansion of GSM network (Vietnam)

  • October 3rd, 2008
  • 11:47 am

VinaPhone’s parent VNPT has signed a deal with Motorola worth USD28 million to expand its GSM network in the southern provinces of the country. Since last years this is the third contract signed between the two parties which allows the provision of wireless services in currently unserved rural areas.

HT Mobile soon to make a comeback as a GSM operator (Vietnam)

  • October 3rd, 2008
  • 11:40 am

HT Mobile, is on the verge of re-entering the Vietnamese mobile market. HT Mobile will launch it’s GSM services within coming few months. The operator had left the mobile market in 2007 as a CDMA operator and with goverment’s due permission it switched to the GSM network. The operator recieved the GSM licence in March 2008, and spent more than USD600 million on equipment from Ericsson and Huawei. By the start of October the company plans to have deployed 5,000 base stations.

   

Vietnam mobile subscribers reaches the mark of 57mln by the end of September (Vietnam)

  • October 3rd, 2008
  • 5:40 am

A local media reports that the number of telephony users in Vietnam has reached 70.4 million with a teledensity of 82 phones per 100 residents. Mobile subscribers has reached the mark of 57 million accounting 81%. According to Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnamese operators won 3.7 million new subscribers in September, up 362 percent year-on-year, bringing the total of new subscribers this year to 23.4 million. The Vietnam Post and Telecommunications group (VNPT) are serving 55.4 percent of the more than 70 million telephony users, trailed by Viettel with 34 percent.

Vietnam govt. allocates VND 1.2 trillion for the development of basic telecom services (Vietnam)

  • October 2nd, 2008
  • 5:45 am

According to a local media report, Vietnam’s ministry of information and communications will earmark VND 1.2 trillion for four companies to develop basic telecommunication services for public interest. To maintain and develop fixed phone subscribers Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group will be offered with around VND 744.3 billion. EVN Telecom and Viettel Telecom will receive VND 337.6 billion and VND 107.5 billion respectively. Vietnam Marine Communication and Electronics (Vishipel) will be provided VND 10.6 billion to equip communication services for fishing boats and provide search and rescue information and natural calamity forecast.

GTEL-Mobile receives GSM concession & associated frequencies (Vietnam)

  • September 26th, 2008
  • 5:29 am

Vimpelcom discloses that its 40% owned Vietnamese subsidiary GTEL-Mobile has received a GSM concession and associated frequencies. According to CEO of Vimpelcom,  the registration of GTEL-Mobile and the receipt of the GSM licence and frequencies is the key milestone in the building of our Vietnamese business. With this we have crossed the major hurdle now we can focus all our efforts on the network launch and the preparation of the commercial launch, he added.

Vimpelcom recieves a mobile licence in Vietnam, plans an investment of $1 billion (Vietnam, Russia)

  • September 25th, 2008
  • 5:24 am

Russia’s second largest mobile operator, Vimpelcom, reportedly, recieves a mobile licence in Vietnam. This licence will a be a venture between the Vietnam’s government and Vimpelcom. The Gtel venture, as it is named, will be providing GSM-technology services and will be building telecoms infrastructure. Vimpelcom will invest up to $1 billion in the venture that may become the centre of its Asian operations.
Vietnamese mobile market has a larger number of GSM operators and subscribers as well, in comparison to the CDMA business.

   

Vietnam lowers mobile phone charges close to cost price (Vietnam)

  • August 12th, 2008
  • 1:59 pm

Vietnam’s big mobile operators MobiFone, VinaPhone, Viettel and S-Phone will be offering promotional sercvice packages. These packages will be avilable from now till end of September’08.

MobiFone named it “Colleague connection” package, in which phone charges are reduced by 30-50% for groups of 5-30 callers. Viettel has VPN package with a charge reduction of 40-50%. VinaPhone and S-Fone also offer packages with charge reductions of 20-40%.

According to the Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Le Nam Thang, the mobile charges, which have been falling by  15-20% per year on average, are close to the cost price.

In Vietnam, at present, 60% of the population are phone subscribers, and 90% of those are mobile subscribers. The number of mobile subscribers rises by 15-20 million a year.

   

Viettel will bring BlackBerry to it’s subscribers in September (Vietnam)

  • August 12th, 2008
  • 6:19 am

Viettel, Vietnam’s largest mobile operator in terms of subscribers, is bringing RIMM BlackBerry for it’s subscribers in Vietnam, an official revealed.

“Viettel has signed a contract to import more than 4,000 handsets for the first time for the domestic market and expects to import more later,” said the official.

The company will provide all services for BlackBerry handsets and will be the sole distibutor for BlackBerry in the country.

The first consignment will include 4 mobile phone models - the BlackBerry 8100, 8320, 8700 and 8800.