A person tests 5G network speeds on a smartphone on Oct. 15, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Luu Quy
Vietnam’s first commercial 5G services were launched in all localities Tuesday morning by military-owned telecom giant Viettel, with subscription starting at VND135,000 (US$5.4) a month.
The company announced at the launching event that it has installed 6,500 base transceiver stations in all 63 provinces and cities, with speeds of up to 1 gigabyte per second, or 10 times that of current 4G services.
Vietnam lagged behind the world in launching 2G, 3G and 4G services, but now it has matched other countries in offering commercial 5G, and is among five countries that can produce 5G equipment, said Tao Duc Thang, Viettel chairman and CEO.
“A new future of mobile services begins today.”
Viettel offers 11 prepaid plans starting from VND135,000 a month and 8 postpaid plans from VND200,000 for individual customers.
Users with 5G-enabled devices can subscribe to the service without changing their SIM cards.
Viettel has also developed 130 different usage scenarios suited to the need of corporates and organizations in all industries, with cloud, artificial intelligence, and internet of things features available.
Viettel began 5G trials in 2019 on the 4G platform and earlier this year tested services on a standalone 5G network.
5G, with ultra-low latency, is expected to support services that demand immediate responses, such as self-driving cars, remote surgeries, smart factory controls, and virtual reality classrooms.
