Vietnam Ministry to limit the number of simcards per person (Vietnam)
The Ministry of Information and Communications will permit each person to register a maximum of 18 simcards from mobile network operators, according to a report by VNS.
As per the report, the draft of a circular on managing pre-paid mobile phone subscribers reveals that if one person wants to have more than three simcards, he/she must register with another mobile phone network operator. So, one person would register a maximum of 18 simcards from six mobile network operators.
The six operators are Viettel, VinaPhone, MobiFone, S-Fone, Vietnamobile and Beeline. The development is considered a tough measure to closely manage pre-paid mobile phone subscribers.
Nguyen Dinh Chien, deputy general director, MobiFone, the third largest mobile network operator, said that mobile simcards were used in many devices such as USBs of 3G generation, notebook computers and mobile phones. Therefore, the State should increase the maximum numbers of simcards owned by each person to five units.
Nguyen Viet Dung, deputy general director of Viettel Telecom, agreed and said the demand was surely more than three simcards for each person.
The report reveals that the draft of the circular will permit one enterprise to register a maximum of 100 simcards. The regulation is expected to restrict enterprises from registering too many simcards to sell on the market. At present, there is a service provided by individuals that a normal subscriber can change to be a student subscriber even if they are not students to get cheaper mobile phone service charges.
Viettel becomes third 3G operator in Vietnam
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Vietnamese military-owned telecoms operator Viettel became the third 3G network operator in the country with the official launch of its third-generation mobile services. The other two 3G operators are Vinaphone and MobiFone.
According to Tong Viet Trung, deputy general director of Viettel, after the deployment of 8,000 base transceiver stations (BTSs), operator’s 3G networks covers 63 provinces and cities nationwide. Viettel hopes to raise the number to 20,000 by the end of this year. Video calling and mobile broadband at download speeds of up to 14.4Mbps along with several other services are offered over its 3G network.
The company has also begun to offer Apple’s iPhone 3G and 3GS for the first time. Viettel started the trial of its 3G networks last year in 20 provinces and it has already reached the subscribers mark of one million.
Viettel was awarded a license to operate 3G services by the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) in April 2009, along with Vinaphone, MobiFone and a consortium between EVN Telecom and Hanoi Telecom
Viettel aims to become third 3G W-CDMA provider of Vietnem
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Viettel, the military-owned telecoms company of Vietnam has expressed its plan to become the third 3G W-CDMA provider of the country by March, 2009. According to the director of Viettel’s HCMC branch, Tran Minh Huy, next generation services will be launched commercially once trials in more than 20 provinces have been concluded.
100,000 3G base stations during 2010 will be established by the firm in this regard.
Earlier, CDMA-based services in October and December 2009 had been launched by rival mobile operators Vinaphone and Mobifone respectively.
Vinaphone to start 3G roaming service by 2010
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Vietnam leading mobile operator, Vinaphone will start international roaming service by 2010. The decision came after the company joined Conexus, an alliance of international mobile phone providers. Through
this agreement, subscribers to one of the alliance’s members and VinaPhone’s users will be permitted to use the services provided by all the other members of the alliance.
A flat rate of 0.2 USD per SMS on roaming will be charged from the customers of Conexus’ 11 members. Other support services such as handset lending, SIM card replacements overseas, making free calls to 18001091 when in Vietnam will also be provided to the subscribers.
11 members of the Conexus Mobile Alliance networks is there in growing economies such as the Republic of Korea , Japan , Hong Kong , Taiwan , Macau , India , the Philippines , Indonesia , Singapore and Thailand and boasts a combined customer base of more than 240 million mobile subscribers across the region.
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.
Vietnam to privatise telecom groups next year
HANOI (AFP) – Vietnam’s three major telecom companies are expected to be partly privatised next year with the majority of the stakes remaining under government control, officials said.
State-owned Vinaphone, MobiFone and the army’s Viettel said earlier this year they would open their mobile activities to the public without providing any firm calendar dates.
“We plan to equitise them next year, according to a program approved by the government in 2005,” said Nguyen Khac Lap, office manager of Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Ministry.
“We have set no specific date for each company. There are a lots of things to do before the plan is achieved,” he said.
Vinaphone and MobiFone, both subsidiaries of state-owned giant Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Corp (VNPT), currently lead the market.
But the Vietnam Military Electronics and Telecommunications Co. has won widespread praise for its dynamic approach to business since it started operations in late 2004.
The country is considered the second fastest growing telecoms market in the world after China. There are about 13 million mobile phone users in the country of more than 84 million people.
Several foreign groups have shown interests in the sector, among whom French France Telecom, Swedish Comvik and Norwegian Telenor.
Vietnamese banks, investment funds and other local private companies have also followed the process closely, observers said.
But major details remain to be settled. The government has not yet decided on the size of a maximum stake foreign investors can acquire.
“We advised authorities to choose one strategic partner for each company, someone that would invest and bring methods, technology and know-how,” an industry insider said, asking not to be named.
“In a second phase, they could also list the group at the stock exchange and open it to other smaller investors.”
“The privatisation will be a long and progressive process,” he added saying the 2007 target was not impossible but might prove difficult to reach.
Vietnam’s telecom sector has experienced major changes over recent years and will face further pressure once Vietnam joins the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Privatisation of the sector has been fiercely negotiated with foreign countries, especially the United States, and is part of Vietnam’s commitment to join the world trade body.
“The integration of the equitised companies would lower the state’s investment burden, sharing the costs among investors,” said the English-language daily Vietnam News, citing the deputy minister of posts and telecommunications.
Internet and the landlines network will remain entirely controlled by the Vietnamese state.
Source- http://au.news.yahoo.com
