FPT to acquire 49% of EVN Telecom (Vietnam)
The Vietnamese government has approved the sale of a 49% stake in state-owned EVN Telecom to technology group FPT, by way of a partial privatization of the operator.
According t the government, the state will retain a slim 50.6% majority in the operator, while 0.4% of the company will be sold to its employees.
According to reports, EVN Telecom will directly negotiate the sale price with FPT and its telecom wing. The acquisition target has a registered capital of around US$186 million.
EVN Telecom, which offers both fixed and mobile services, has struggled to make a splash in Vietnam’s saturated telecom market. It is the smallest of Vietnam’s seven major operators, according to the telecom ministry, and made just 60% of its earnings target for 2010.
According to reports, the CDMA-based operator blames a lack of access to GSM technology for its lack of progress, and the sale to GPT is a form of strategic partnership.
EVN, Vietnamobile rush to meet 3G launch deadline
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Network infrastructure has been rapidly deployed by Vietnamese mobile operators EVN Telecom and Hanoi Telecom (Vietnamobile) to meet the rollout deadline stipulated by the terms of their concession. The consortium has been asked to launch third-generation services by June 6 and if it fails to meet the deadline, it will have to lose its VND1 billion (USD51, 371) deposit.
VND2 trillion in the construction of around 2,500 3G base transceiver stations has been invested so far by EVN and it plans to install an additional 5,000 under the second phase of its rollout plan.
Vietnamobile on the other hand is negotiating with foreign partners to buy additional 3G equipment. According to EVN officials, the company is expected to launch 3G services in mid-June, with services restricted to the country’s largest cities, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.
GTel receives fixed line license in Vietnam govt
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Local telecoms operator GTel has been awarded a license by Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) allowing it to deploy a network for the provision of fixed telephony services.
Vietnamese state-owned vehicles Global Telecommunications Corporation owns 51% of the GTel, 40% is owned by
Russian mobile group Vimpelcom and 9% by GTEL TSC. Wireless services have already been launched by the telco in Vietnam in July 2009 under the Beeline banner.
After state-owned incumbent Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), military-owned Viettel, electricity firm EVN Telecom, Saigon Post and Telecommunications (SPT), FPT Telecom, VNPT subsidiary VTC Group and IT company CMC, GTel has become the eighth licensed fixed line operator in Vietnam.
Vietnam prepares ground for 4G
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Inputs have been seeked from the country’s telecom providers by Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) to design a plan for a 4G frequency band. Department of Wireless Frequency and Telecommunications has been assigned the responsibility for the task.
MIC will design the plan after it has collected the input by the end of this year. After this, telecoms operators of Vietnam will be allowed to choose whether to adopt WiMAX or Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology.
WiMax trial has already been carried out by a number of operators. State-owned Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications (VNPT) launched the first pilots in the mountainous Lao Cai region in October 2006. This was followed by military-owned Viettel’s trial in Hanoi in December 2006.
FPT Telecom, EVN Telecom, Viettel, Saigon Postel and VNPT’s wholly-owned subsidiary Vietnam Data Communications Company (VDC) were granted the license by MIC in March 2008 for a year-long trial of mobile WiMAX. Temporary spectrum allocations in the 2.3GHz-2.4GHz range FPT, EVN and Viettel. VDC was given a block in the 2.5GHz band.
3G infrastructure to be shared by EVN (Vietnam)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Vietnamese telecoms operator EVN Telecom has seeked Ministry of Information and Communications permission to share third-generation mobile network facilities with other wireless operators.
Sharing 3G infrastructure, by allowing national roaming on the mobile networks of its rivals, will allow EVN to cut investment costs by up to one-third.
According to Chief of EVN’s IT-Telecom department, Nguyen Thanh Lam, EVN is facing many difficulties because big networks refuse EVN’s roaming on their networks, however, they are ready for international roaming which is very irrational.
A petition has been filed by EVN to the MIC to cut connection fees for international VoIP services by 50%.
Vinaphone to launch Vietnam’s first 3G Network.
VinaPhone, the Vietnamese mobile operator has announced that its 3G network will be launched on October 12th. Vinaphone will be first to go live on 3G in Vietnam.
VinaPhone’s deputy director Ho Duc Thang told a media house that Vinaphone has finalised the installation of thousands of 3G transceiver base stations will announce 3G tarriffs on the day of launch.
Vinaphone officially launched in June 2006 and currently has over 13 million subscribers. Vinaphone is among the top three mobile operators in Vietnam now.
Motorola has earlier announced that it had won the 3G upgrade contract from Vinaphone.
Three more operators in Vietnam have a 3G license – Viettel, EVN Telecom-Hanoi Telecom and Mobifone are testing their networks and will be launching shortly.
Mobile subscriptions forecast to redouble in 2007
Telegeography writes…Vietnam’s burgeoning cellular market, having doubled in size to 22 million subscribers by the end of 2006, will double again to 44 million by the end of this year, according to telecom service providers. Currently the three GSM operators, Vinaphone, MobiFone and Viettel are said to hold 95% of the market with 19.7 million customers between them, whereas S-Fone and EVN Telecom, who operate CDMA networks, boast a joint total of 2.2 million. Another CDMA operator, Hanoi Telecom, is expected to launch services this month. Minister of Post and Telematics Do Trung Ta said that cellcos must concentrate not only on coverage but also quality, and in addition they must file quarterly figures showing their areas of coverage and number of subscribers. He warned that the Ministry would be keeping strict control over telecom fees, quality and promotional campaigns, saying that any provider offering services at below production cost would face a fine.
