Network operators should remove 'bandwidth throttling' packages to improve customer experience

VietNamNet still receives many comments from readers about slow Internet access experiences at many times, especially at the end of the month or at the end of data package cycles.

The "bandwidth squeeze" race in the 3G era

In 2016, when the race to develop 3G subscribers of the network operators reached its climax with "bandwidth-squeezing" packages being launched one after another, it caused consequences for the market. At that time, all three mobile networks, VinaPhone, MobiFone and Viettel, offered a 70,000 VND/month package, which would give 1.6 Gb of 3G data, but when this capacity ran out, customers could no longer use 3G services. Instead, the 70,000 VND package only had 600 Mbps of 3G capacity, and after that, the bandwidth would be throttled.

The "bandwidth-squeezing" packages launched at that time made customers feel that the 3G quality of the network was "terrible". There were quite a few customers complaining about the 3G quality of the network, but the network said that most of these complaints were because customers would have their 3G bandwidth "squeezed" after running out of capacity, so the quality was very low. All mobile networks confirmed that the 3G capacity that customers used did not exceed 40% of the 3G network capacity, so there was no problem of mobile congestion for customers.

At that time, some international organizations such as OpenSignal and Akamai ranked 3G speed in Vietnam even lower than Laos and Cambodia, making the public wonder if Vietnam's 3G network is really that slow? The Department of Telecommunications ( Ministry of Information and Communications ) emphasized that each organization often has different measurement methods and algorithms. However, they often never calculate all the factors that affect Internet access speed such as the package applied by the network operator, the type of smartphone used by the user, the technology and policies of the network operators, the content providing server...

To avoid a repeat of the situation where international organizations continue to underestimate Vietnam's 3G speed, the Telecommunications Department believes that the root of the problem lies in the need for network operators to appropriately adjust their package policies. Restricting bandwidth after customers have used up their high capacity will cause the average speed of the entire package to be very low. "Network operators need to study a pricing policy that harmonizes the interests of users and businesses, but still ensures that the Internet access speed for mobile subscribers in Vietnam is improved," said a representative of the Telecommunications Department.

After that, the network operators committed to abandoning the "bandwidth-throttling" 3G packages, so that customers could experience better service quality.

"Bandwidth throttling" packages are back

After the Ministry of Information and Communications required network operators to ensure the quality of 3G services and network operators abandoned the "bandwidth throttling" package, this story has recurred recently with 4G services and once again distorted the quality of this service with cross-border measurement tools.

In fact, the mobile telecommunications infrastructure in Vietnam is always considered modern in the region, with more than 100,000 4G broadcasting stations and 5G technology tested in more than 40 provinces and cities nationwide. However, according to the measurement results using the iSpeed application of the Vietnam Internet Center (speedtest.vn), the average download speed of mobile subscribers in Vietnam in May 2023 was only 36.16 Mbps. According to Okala's announcement, the average download speed of mobile subscribers in Vietnam in May 2023 was 46.72 Mbps, slightly higher than the announcement of the Vietnam Internet Center, but only ranked 48th in the world and still much lower than many countries in the region such as Singapore (71.69 Mbps) and only about half compared to European countries, Korea, China...

Although the submarine cable problem in February-March 2023 has been basically resolved, VietNamNet still receives many comments from readers about slow Internet access experience at many times, especially at the end of the month or the end of the data package cycle.

Through a survey, VietNamNet found that currently in Vietnam there are millions of mobile subscribers using modern smartphones, but are still using mobile data packages with the "bandwidth throttling" feature when they run out of high-speed data capacity.

Although network operators have announced their "bandwidth throttling" package policies, many customers have not paid attention and when accessing mobile Internet at low speeds (256Kbps or 512Kbps), they think that the network is having problems, or the network quality is affected by the recent submarine fiber optic cable problem.

Currently, many of the world's leading carriers no longer have the bandwidth reduction feature (e.g., T-Mobile USA). Instead, they issue data plans with traffic limits and will stop access when the traffic is used up. In addition, with 5G data plans, after using up the allowed 5G traffic in the plan, it will switch to using 4G data.

Young customers are often interested in high speed when accessing the Internet, leading to negative psychology when the bandwidth reduction feature is applied during the use of mobile data. Content that young customers are interested in often requires large data traffic when accessing such as: games, videos, social networks... Sometimes this negatively affects the brand image of network operators in the eyes of young customers.

Speaking to VietNamNet , a representative of the Telecommunications Department said that in addition to offering packages to attract customers, network operators must ensure the quality of mobile Internet services for customers. Recently, the Ministry of Information and Communications has directed network operators to improve the domestic digital infrastructure by eliminating signal dips, increasing the rate of people using smartphones and households with fiber optic Internet lines. Therefore, ensuring the quality of services provided to people is the top priority today.

Currently, network operators in Vietnam all have high-speed and large-capacity data packages without bandwidth throttling, which can fully meet the needs and ensure customer experience. Therefore, it is time for network operators to review and adjust the packages with bandwidth throttling feature for low-speed access, to ensure customer experience and Internet speed indicators in Vietnam.

Vietnam's 3G speed: "unfairly criticized" because of unreasonable packages . Some international organizations such as OpenSignal and Akamai recently ranked Vietnam's 3G speed as even lower than Laos and Cambodia, causing public concern. But is it true that Vietnam's 3G network is really that slow?

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