VietNamNet Bridge - At least one Vietnamese technology firm is making preparation for the deployment of 5G after the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) said a license for testing 5G would be granted in 2019.


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Vietnam is preparing for 5G



MIC Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said at a workshop on innovation organized by MIC and the Communist Party Central Economics Committee last November that Vietnam would launch the service on a trial basis in 2019 and become one of the first countries in the world to deploy 5G in 2020.

Technology and telecom firms are planning to develop services on the platform of 5G. Tran Manh Hung, Chair of VNPT, which owns VinaPhone, one of the three largest mobile networks in Vietnam, said the group has asked for permission to test 5G. MobiFone, the other large mobile network, has also expressed its willingness for the license to test 5G.

However, both VinaPhone and MobiFone declined to give detailed information about the preparation for 5G testing.

Meanwhile, Tao Duc Thang, deputy CEO of Viettel, stated after the workshop that Viettel is preparing for 5G deployment in 2019. He asked MIC to give information about the frequency for 5G, so that Viettel and other network operators can make suitable designs for 5G.

The 5G experiment will require the development of infrastructure such as fiber optic and base transreceiver stations (BTS). Viettel began preparing for this to develop fiber optital network to remote areas.

MIC Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said at a workshop on innovation organized by MIC and the Communist Party Central Economics Committee last November that Vietnam would launch the service on a trial basis in 2019 and become one of the first countries in the world to deploy 5G in 2020.

When asked if telcos would have enough time to prepare for 5G, Thang affirmed that Viettel prepared 36,000 BTS for 4G deployment within six months.

He explained that developing infrastructure and setting transmission lines and BTS are the most time consuming works. Once infrastructure items are ready, it will not take much time to install devices.

Mobile network operators are ready for 5G because they already have infrastructure items. Once terminal devices are available, everything will be within reach.

Some experts have shown their disagreement with the plan to begin deploying 5G next year, saying that the demand in Vietnam remains weak.

Explaining the reason for Vietnam to plan to license 5G services soon, MIC Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said 5G will create a revolution in connections. 

If 2G, 3G and 4G connect seven billion people, 5G will connect trillions of devices and transform the physical world into a virtual world. The 5G network will be the most important infrastructure system in the 4.0 industry revolution.


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