Any carbon atom can become coal or diamond, depending on the environment it is placed in.
Any carbon atom can become coal or diamond, depending on the environment it is placed in. Just as carbon must endure certain temperatures and pressures to become diamond, a person or an organization can only reach its highest value when placed in a sufficiently challenging environment.
With this philosophy, Viettel Group Chairman Tao Duc Thang concluded that Viettel Telecom's 25-year journey has been about constantly creating its own rigorous "furnace" to transform tiny carbon particles into diamonds.
These "training grounds" have made history.
The first and most rigorous test came in 2000, when Viettel Telecom entered the telecommunications market. At that time, Viettel Telecom was precisely a tiny speck of carbon. No capital, no infrastructure, no customers, and almost invisible to competitors. Their only assets were a license and a single option to break into the market: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.
This is even a technology that major companies consider not worth investing in due to its low profitability.
The environment was fraught with obstacles. Bandwidth was constricted, causing every word transmitted to shatter. Connections were constantly interrupted, forcing Viettel Telecom employees to "live and wait for days and months at each provincial post office ." Without support in collecting fees, they had to mobilize all their resources, going door-to-door to collect even the smallest fees.
Then, the narrow path suddenly turned into a "suffocating battlefield" as other network operators simultaneously jumped into the fray. It was in this seemingly unsustainable environment that Viettel Telecom learned to innovate in tight spaces, learned to patiently wait for opportunities, and most importantly, learned to transform pressure into strength.
VoIP 178, once a strange service, has not only changed the communication habits of millions of Vietnamese people, but also created a turning point for the entire market, breaking the "monopoly" and forcing leading network operators to reconsider their pricing and service quality, paving the way for the era of voice over the Internet and subsequent telecommunication services. The first carbon particle has begun its transformation process.
Viettel's VOIP service – the first "golden goose" and the launching pad for subsequent telecommunications services.
Having overcome the challenge of survival, Viettel Telecom didn't rest on its laurels. They pushed themselves into a new "crucible" with even greater pressure: building their own mobile network. The problem remained the same: no infrastructure, no large capital, no experience. But this time, they had a weapon they had honed: the belief that everyone deserves to be connected.
Driven by that belief, Viettel Telecom did things no one else dared to do. They found a solution: purchasing equipment on deferred payment terms to acquire a number of base stations equal to the total number of stations of all other network operators combined within 10 years. They deployed infrastructure simultaneously nationwide to achieve full coverage across Vietnam in the shortest possible time.
In many places, Viettel Telecom's signal reaches even before the power grid and roads. Each cell tower erected not only transmits the signal, but also conveys aspirations and opens up opportunities for development in the most remote areas.
This process of self-imposed pressure continued to become a culture. When 3G, 4G, and later 5G technologies emerged, Viettel Telecom did something that "almost no other network operator in the world had ever done": nationwide coverage right from launch, with the philosophy of "technology first, business second," and bringing connectivity to everyone, regardless of terrain, income, or distance.
These "diamonds" were created from the challenge.
After 25 years, Viettel Telecom is in a position many businesses dream of: the widest network, the largest customer base, and the most trusted brand. They have become a sparkling "diamond" in the telecommunications industry. But the biggest risk comes from that very glamour.
Things that were once sources of pride, like infrastructure or pricing, are gradually becoming commonplace. When connectivity is reduced to an "invisible conduit," the true value will lie in the foundations upon which it rests, and Viettel Telecom faces the risk of being relegated to operating the infrastructure for someone else's dream.
As mentioned regarding carbon particles, the amazing thing is that they exist everywhere, but they never remain static in a single form. Graphite, diamond, or graphene – the super-conductive material – are all just different forms of carbon after various "reconstructions" and transformations.
"Standing still means falling behind" - recognizing this, Viettel Telecom is once again putting itself in a new crucible, a comprehensive transformation to evolve to a higher form. They are facing a decisive moment for carbon: if they don't restructure, it will vanish; but if they are brave enough to break the old bonds, rearrange them into a new structure – thinner, more flexible, more durable – it will become graphene, the supermaterial of the future.
Viettel Telecom is transforming into Techco.
The transformation into a technology company and digital service provider (Techco) requires Viettel Telecom to change from its roots, including breaking down closed departments and becoming a unified entity where data and ideas flow seamlessly. Subsequently, it must transform its core competencies from network operations into leading digital products, mastering AI and future platforms.
Viettel Telecom's 25-year journey has proven that limitations are temporary, but the spirit of breakthrough is eternal. As Viettel Group Chairman Tao Duc Thang shared: "If we are content with what we have, satisfied with the goals we have achieved, we will certainly not become diamonds, but just ordinary things."
Viettel Telecom chose not to become the ordinary. They continued to choose the difficult path, the path of pressure and transformation, because they understood that it was the only path to a future they had forged.
BT
Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/hanh-trinh-25-nam-cua-viettel-telecom-va-triet-ly-hat-carbon-102251016201529944.htm
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