VietNamNet Bridge – Three of the largest carriers in Viet Nam have simultaneously raised the 3G (Third Generation Network) speeds to 42 Mbps, six times faster than existing speeds in order to meet increasing demands for data.

3G speeds will be enhanced to 42 Mbps in the Vietnamese market, making six times higher than existing speeds. — Photo talkvietnam.com

MobiFone said it has upgraded 1,000 BTSs (Base Transmission Stations) which support 3G at speeds of 42 Mbps in Ha Noi, HCM City and Dong Nai, bringing the total number of BTSs offering 42 Mbps speed to 2,000 nation-wide.

Further, the download speed of 42Mbps could enable subscribers to watch HD video clips on mobile phones with 3G connections, the company said.

The speed increase was put in place after the mobile giant successfully adopted the DC- HSDPA protocol for its third generation of mobile telecommunications technology.

Meanwhile, Viettel said it had installed BTSs with higher 3G speed in 13 province and cities across the country.

The country's largest mobile carrier, in terms of the number of subscribers, said it would cover the 3G with a 42Mbps speed throughout the country in 2015.

Vinaphone, a subsidiary of Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), said it would finish upgrading all of its 13,000 BTSs nation-wide to 42Mbps next year.

Doan Xuan Hop, deputy head of VinaPhone's sales office, said the network would continue developing wider bandwidths and high speed, as well as offer new features for users, especially payment services via mobile phones.

Vinaphone is also working on a project to increase 3G download speeds to 84Mbps in the future.

The DC-HSDPA can send download speeds for 3G connections of up to 42Mbps, higher than that of the popular ADSL connection (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), according to experts.

The DC-HSDPA, or Dual Cell High-Speed Downlink Packet Access, is an enhanced 3G mobile-telephone communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) family which allows mobile networks to have higher data-transfer speeds and capacities.

With the enhanced speed, subscribers will be able to download as many as eight mp3 songs of 5Mbps quality within one second.

3G subscribers increase

The first six months of this year have seen a decline in 2G mobile subscribers and a slight increase in the number of 3G subscribers.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Information and Communications, the number of 2G subscribers has fallen by approximately five million, while 3G subscribers have increased by more than three million. Also, the total number of subscribers has declined by 2.1 million to 121,12 million, so far this year.

The telecom market is also witnessing a decrease in fixed line subscribers, with its total number now just seven million. In the same period last year, the number of fixed line subscribers was 9.47 million.

The decline in fixed line subscribers is projected to continue, since mobile phones are now inexpensive and convenient, and telecom rates are affordable.

The statistics also show that by the end of June, the number of ADSL subscribers is expected to increase by 300,000 to 5.5 million.

According to the ministry, the total revenue of postal and telecom services in the first six months of 2014 reached VND122 trillion (US$5.8 billion), which is equivalent to 44 per cent of its plan.

VNS/VNN