VietNamNet Bridge - Fixed-line phones are no longer used by most Vietnamese families, while the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group (VNPT) is alone in the path, incurring a loss of trillions of dong. 

An official report showed that in the last 10 years, the number of mobile phones has increased by 14 times, while the number of landline subscribers has decreased dramatically. 

In 2015, Vietnam had 5.9 million fixed-line subscribers. The figure fluctuated, but the number of subscribers has fallen by 1.23 million over the last 10 years.

Vietnamese telecommunication service users now prefer mobile phones to fixed-line even though mobile phone service fees are many times higher. The number of mobile phone subscribers in Vietnam reached 126 million.

The number of fixed-line phone users continues to fall, though the total number of telephone subscribers has been increasing steadily and sharply by 8 times in the last 10 years (the number of subscribers increased by twofold in 2007 alone).

In 2005, fixed-line subscribers accounted for 45 percent of total telecom subscribers, while the figure dropped dramatically to 4 percent in 2015.

The unique position of landline phones was shaken when feature phones and then smartphones – compact, portable with more useful features - hit the market.

Vietnamese telecommunication service users now prefer mobile phones to fixed-line even though mobile phone service fees are many times higher. The number of mobile phone subscribers in Vietnam reached 126 million.

Though service providers still have been trying to attract more landline subscribers by offering more features to their subscribers, such as launching Homephone and Gphone, they cannot save the situation. More and more subscribers have left the networks.

Landline phones are now mostly used at agencies and businesses. They are still favored there thanks to the better quality of voice calls. However, experts warned that the downfall of landline phones is nearing.

VNPT is the telco that dominates the landline phone market. In its golden days, VNPT once had 13 million landline subscribers. However, the number of subscribers has been decreasing by 25 percent per annum. 

In Hanoi, the Hanoi Post Office, a subsidiary of VNPT which holds 85 percent of the market share, reported that 60,000 subscribers leave every year.

The low number of subscribers, plus the low service fee, have led to VNPT incurring big losses. 

In 2012, VNPT once reported it had to lost 63 percent as it charged customers VND43 per minute, while the production cost was VND650 per minute.

Vu Tien Duong, a senior executive of VNPT, has said in local newspapers that the telco was incurring the loss of trillions of dong from landline service.


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