VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s total telecom revenue in the first half was estimated at VND178 trillion (US$8.16 billion), up 8.4% against a year ago, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Customers surf the Internet via their mobile devices at a telecom service firm in HCMC. Of the total telecom revenue of VND178 trillion in January-June, VND10.5 trillion is from Internet-based services

Figures of the GSO under the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed the local telecom sector had seen steady growth in revenue since 2014.

Last year, telecom sales rose by 1.5 times year-on-year to some VND305 trillion after a strong drop in the previous year, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Vietnam’s 2014 White Book on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) showed the nation’s telecom revenue declined from US$8.47 billion in 2012 to US$7.37 billion in 2013. Experts worried that the sharp decrease would continue given dismal developments in the sector.

But the sector reported a revenue pickup in 2014 and in the first half of this year.

Of the total telecom revenue in the January-June period, VND10.5 trillion came from Internet-based services. This represented a year-on-year rise of 12.2% owing mostly to the surge of nearly 30% in new 3G mobile service users.

By the end of June, the number of 3G subscribers had hit 29.1 million and is forecast to rise further as it makes up 20% of the total number of mobile subscribers in Vietnam.  The percentage in developed countries like Japan and South Korea is from 70% to 80%.

The number of mobile subscribers in Vietnam had reached nearly 137 million by June, up 14.3% against a year ago while the number of 2G subscribers had grown 6% to 107.8 million.