VietNamNet Bridge – To date, most of the telcos which have got 3G licenses, have fulfilled their commitments. However, they say they still face many troubles.
The report released by the Telecommunication Agency of the Ministry of Information and Communication at the conference reviewing 3G technology application held in Hanoi on July 20, showed that Vietnam has had eight million 3G subscribers so far, while the turnover from the voice services and data transmission via 3G networks had reached 3600 billion dong by the end of 2010.

Mobile network operators all surpass committed targets

To date, all mobile network operators who have got licenses for 3G, have fulfill their plan to build up the network infrastructure and 3G coverage area as committed. To date, 30,334 base stations (Node B) have been installed.

Hoang Trung Hai, Deputy Director of VinaPhone, said that the total number of Node B the company plans to install is 8745, while it has installed 7500, and the other ones would be installed by September.

MobiFone has reportedly built up 5400 base transceiver stations (BTS), while it has committed to build 7600 3G stations in the first three years of launching 3G services. It is expected that MobiFone would have 8500 BTS by December, or 900 BTS more than planned.

Viettel had got nearly 8000 stations by the day it launched the services, while it hopes to have 3000 more stations more by the end of the year, far exceeding the committed figure.

The joint name of EVN Telecom and Vietnamobile has committed to have 7500 stations by the end of 2012, while EVN Telecom alone had had 6300 by the end of the third quarter of 2011.

The turnover from 3G services in the first period of development has satisfied service providers. MobiFone’s Deputy Director, Nguyen Dang Nguyen said the revenue from data services has increased significantly since the beginning of 2010, which has encouraged MobiFone to push up 3G services.

The representative from Viettel said that it plans to replace 2G with 3G, while 3G would gradually replace voice and SMS. Therefore, Viettel has decided to make heavy investments in 3G and reduce the investments in 2G.

Difficulties exist

Telecommunication companies complain that the biggest challenge for them now is the installation of more stations.

The representative from EVN Telecom said that local people have been trying to hinder the installation of new stations, especially in the districts of Thanh Xuan, Hoang Mai, Tu Liem in Hanoi and in Bac Ninh province.

VinaPhone has also complained that it is very difficult to lease premises to expand the wave coverage, especially in advantageous positions in big urban areas such as Hanoi and HCM City.

According to MobiFone, though 3G equipment have small sizes, local people still require higher land leasing fees and ask to reduce the number of masts. Nguyen has emphasized that enterprises would face great difficulties unless they can get support from relevant ministries, and that the plan to develop 3G would get stuck because of the problems.

“Some households get jealous with other households who can earn money from leasing land for installing stations and they try to hinder the installation. In fact, the stations do not influence human heath,” the representative from EVN Telecom said.

Besides, telcos have also complained that they need capital to develop 3G network infrastructure, having requested to take back the deposit money they had to pay as a commitment to provide 3G services.

Do Vu Anh, Head of the Telecom Division of the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group VNPT, said that in order to provide high quality 3G services, VNPT will need many stations. Now VNPT has 20,000 2G stations, while the number of 3G stations should be 50 percent higher, which will need a huge sum of money for the investment.

TBKTVN