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The Ministry of Information and Communications has licensed telecommunications enterprises to test 5G in 40 provinces and centrally-run cities. Photo: TK.

Network operators hope to be granted frequency licenses soon.

Network operators told VietNamNet that they have fully prepared for this auction. A major network operator said it was ready to provide 5G as soon as it got the license.

“We hope that the Ministry of Information and Communications will soon license 5G frequencies to provide services to customers and bring new experiences to 5G service users. Currently, 5G services are concentrated in industrial parks, seaports... where the need for automation and intelligence is high,” said a representative of this major network.

A representative of another network operator said that the “golden band” 2600 MHz is the dream band because the investment will be lower than other bands. Perhaps in this band, the auction will be more “interesting”.

According to forecasts, the upcoming frequency auction will not have any “new players” because the mobile sector has very few opportunities for new carriers to enter the market and go straight to 5G.

The auction will have only 3 carriers get 5G spectrum. The winning company will be granted a license to use the spectrum for a period of 15 years.

How does the frequency auction plan work?

According to the plan, the 5G frequency auction will be held on the afternoon of March 8 at the Radio Frequency Department. A representative of the Radio Frequency Department said that the Department will not conduct the 5G frequency auction, but this will be carried out by the National Joint Stock Auction Company No. 5.

The starting price of the first auction round is 3,983,257,500,000 VND (three thousand nine hundred and eighty-three billion, two hundred and fifty-seven million, five hundred thousand VND). The starting price of the next auction round is the highest bid in the previous auction round. The price applied in the auction of the 2500 MHz - 2600 MHz spectrum block is 50 billion VND.

The auction is conducted by direct voting in multiple rounds, and the auction method will have to pay the price up. The bidding is conducted in multiple rounds until there are no more businesses bidding, then the last business with the highest price is the winning business. Determining the winning business is carried out according to the Auction Regulations and in compliance with legal regulations.

Previously, the frequency licensing was approved by state agencies for businesses. This was followed by a competition to obtain frequencies. In other words, the frequency band was licensed free of charge to businesses. Every year, network operators only had to pay frequency band fees according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance . At that time, the management agency even discussed a lot about having to collect additional telecommunications franchise fees from network operators.

However, when the Radio Frequency Law comes into effect and network operators want to have good frequency bands to provide services to customers, they will have to participate in public and transparent auctions.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam has 126 million mobile subscribers and the market is beginning to reach saturation. Another statistic shows that each year, network operators are competing for about 800,000 new subscribers to enter the market.

Previously, the Ministry of Information and Communications licensed telecommunications enterprises to test 5G in 40 provinces and centrally-run cities.

Network operators believe that 5G will be a digital infrastructure that will almost replace physical infrastructure in building platforms and connecting future society.

This digital infrastructure creates connections not only between people but also between people and machines, and between machines and machines. These are the foundations for automation and the transformation of industries.

However, 4G is still important and will be around for a while. It is also important to continue investing in 4G because in the next few years, 4G will still be the popular network. But 5G will be deployed in hot spots, industrial zones, and large cities.