Realizing 5G technology

Along with the completion of the 2G network shutdown roadmap, October 15th marks a significant milestone for Vietnam's telecommunications sector as 5G officially launched commercial services for the first time. 5G promises to bring many groundbreaking benefits, contributing to the development of the digital economy and the nation's digital transformation.

A new step forward for network operators.

Viettel Group has just become the first mobile network operator in Vietnam to commercially provide 5G services with over 6,500 base transceiver stations (BTS), covering 100% of all 63 provinces and cities. Currently, users can experience the network's 5G service for free by sending a text message "TN5G" to 191 or by subscribing to various packages…

Major General Tao Duc Thang, Chairman and CEO of Viettel Group, stated that by mastering many critical core network systems, Viettel has brought Vietnam into the top 5 countries capable of producing 5G network equipment, after Sweden, Finland, China, and South Korea. The launch of 5G services is a new milestone, strongly demonstrating Vietnam's pioneering and breakthrough journey in mobile technology.

Viettel is the first mobile network operator in Vietnam to announce the commercialization of 5G.

For VNPT customers, from October 13th to November 15th, VinaPhone users with 5G phones will be able to participate in a free trial of super-fast 5G (50GB of data, valid for 30 days). Accordingly, when operating in areas with 5G coverage, VinaPhone subscribers will receive a notification message inviting them to try the service for free.

According to the plan, by the end of 2024, VNPT will complete the installation of over 3,000 VinaPhone 5G base stations to ensure strong, stable, and continuous coverage, especially in urban areas and major economic centers nationwide. VinaPhone 5G promises to deliver access speeds up to 10 times faster than 4G networks, along with low latency, improving the experience of using mobile internet, online gaming, and other smart applications with maximum performance.

Meanwhile, MobiFone, after acquiring the C3 frequency band (3,800-3,900MHz) in July 2024, is focusing on completing its infrastructure and preparing for 5G commercialization. A representative from the network stated that customers will be able to experience 5G services in November 2024. MobiFone is implementing a collaborative infrastructure sharing model with other network operators that have suitable 5G frequency bands, optimizing resources for all operators and providing customers with the best possible experience.

Promoting the development of public services.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, promoting the application of 5G technology in various industries is a prerequisite for the comprehensive deployment of 5G in Vietnam. Therefore, businesses need to keep up with the trend, research 5G applications suitable to their specific industry characteristics, and work together with telecommunications companies to innovate and apply 5G solutions in practice to improve operational efficiency.

On the other hand, 5G also helps to boost many fields, such as: manufacturing, intelligent traffic management, energy management, construction and mining, digital education, telehealth, smart retail and smart cities...

5G technology opens up many new services such as interactive real-time virtual reality. Photo: TAN BA

According to Scott Minehane, CEO of Windsor Place Consulting and an expert from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), with its ultra-fast and stable connection speeds, 5G will be a powerful catalyst for Vietnam to accelerate digital transformation and comprehensive digitalization across many sectors.

With Vietnamese network operators deploying 5G services, citizens will experience public services faster, more convenient, and more modern than ever before. “The deployment of 5G technology not only contributes to the efficient operation of government agencies but also brings a convenient digital life, meeting all the needs of the people,” shared Scott Minehane.

Research by the Institute of Information and Communications Strategy (Ministry of Information and Communications) shows that by 2025, 5G technology is projected to contribute approximately 7.34% to GDP growth. With 403 industrial parks (potentially increasing to 558 by 2030), 5,000 mining sites, 34 seaports, and 22 airports (10 international airports) nationwide, the opportunity for telecommunications companies to focus on providing 5G services is immense.

Therefore, network operators need to quickly deploy solutions to provide connectivity infrastructure and information technology based on 5G technology in the aforementioned areas to take advantage of 5G's benefits. Furthermore, Decision No. 942/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister approving the Strategy for the Development of E-Government towards Digital Government for the period 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030, has set the goal that citizens and businesses can use digital services according to their individual needs, conveniently, easily, without paperwork, and without requiring physical presence unless required by law.

The development of e-government and digital government is determined to be closely linked to solving major problems in order to better serve citizens and businesses. Therefore, 5G also needs to strongly demonstrate its connectivity role to serve the nation's digital transformation goals.

Viettel has launched 19 mobile data packages for individual users, including 11 prepaid and 8 postpaid packages. VNPT and MobiFone have not yet announced the deployment timeline for this new generation mobile technology, although VNPT is currently offering 5G trial experiences in many provinces and cities.

Accordingly, Viettel's packages are charged monthly, with costs ranging from 135,000 to 480,000 VND for prepaid users and from 200,000 to 2,000,000 VND for postpaid users. Each package offers different benefits, in addition to internet data, such as free calls to both domestic and international numbers, access to social media, or utilities like watching TV and storage.

Compared to 4G plans, 5G plans are more expensive; for example, the lowest-priced 5G plan costs 135,000 VND/month, almost double the 70,000 VND/month price of a 4G plan, but offers eight times more data and many more benefits.

TRAN LUU - BA TAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/hien-thuc-hoa-cong-nghe-5g-post763981.html