On April 2nd 2009, Vietnam awarded the long awaited 3G licenses to 4 companies namely Viettel, Vinaphone, Mobifone and a Joint Venture of EVN Telecom & Hanoi Telecom.
Analysis
On April 2nd 2009, Vietnam awarded the long awaited 3G licenses to 4 companies namely Viettel, Vinaphone, Mobifone and a Joint Venture of EVN Telecom & Hanoi Telecom. Viettel was the first runner up in the bidding process with a score of 966.67/1,000, which was 346 points higher than the second winner, Vinaphone. The four companies have three months to deposit a total VND8.1 trillion (US$460mln) into government accounts before receiving the official licenses and they have 9 months to start offering 3G services.
3G is the third generation of mobile phone standards and technology; it enables network operators to offer users a wider range of more advanced services such as video calls and wireless data transmission while achieving greater network capacity through improved spectral efficiency. From 2005 to 2008, world 3G’s subscribers grew by 61% (CAGR), reaching 329.9mln subscribers and Qualcomm, a wireless telecommunications research and development company based in San Diego, California, forecasts that in 2011, 3G subscribers will account for 57% of total subscribers. In Vietnam, only 2% of the 36 million mobile users use wireless broadband services.
However, despite the various advantages of 3G technology, implementing it in Vietnam is not a done deal. High initial investment costs, lack of 3G coverage, expensive 3G phones, and fierce competition may present significant challenges for 3G implementation in Vietnam.
This author consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
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