VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Information and Communications and big tech companies in Vietnam are implementing 4G, which is expected to begin in late 2015.

The 4G is the fourth generation wireless communication technology, allowing data transfer with maximum speed in ideal conditions up to 1-1.5 Gbps, over 40 times higher than the highest bandwidth of 3G services.

In the world, more than 300 network operators have offered the technology and the most advanced smartphone models are integrated with 4G technology. Last year there were about 450 million 4G subscribers globally, and the number is expected to reach 830 million in 2015.

The deployment of 4G in Vietnam is inevitable. The issue is when the country should implement it to maximum benefit.

4G frequency to be auctioned in late 2015

Mr. Doan Quang Hoan, Director of the Radio Frequency (Ministry of Information and Communications), the said the Department has planned the 2.3 GHz and 2.6 GHz bands for mobile broadband, but they have not been used yet. They will be used for LTE 4G. The government has agreed to auction the 4G LTE band in late 2015 or early 2016.

"We will conduct the auction for the 2.3 GHz and 2.6 GHz band, and for the 850/900/1800 MHz band, and we will discuss with businesses the reallocation," he said.

Another solution that Vietnam is pursuing is digitizing TV. It is expected that by 2020, all provinces and cities in Vietnam will have digitized television. In 2018, the provinces and cities in the delta will stop using analog technology, freeing up bandwidth for mobile TV.

Vietnam is considering the possibility of licensing the development of broadband for TV before 2018, to deploy 4G LTE early in a low frequency band.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, the current need of Vietnam is to ensure universal broadband access in both the urban and rural and remote areas. Thus, it is necessary to have policies and accurate calculations on the exact needs of broadband and frequency in order to use the current frequencies for other services.

Samsung urges 4G implementation

Mr. Joon Ho Park, senior vice president of Samsung, in charge of marketing and sales said, 4G LTE is beneficial for network operators and users, as well as society. For example, the investment cost is only one-fourth compared to 3G while the efficiency is 3.8 times higher, the operating cost is equivalent to 38% compared to 3G. Meanwhile, the cost of support equipment for 4G is increasingly cheaper. This year the Snapdragon 210 chip of Qualcomm will facilitate the wave of 4G smartphones at a price below $100 on the market.

Based on the experience of 4G deployment in South Korea, Park recommended that Vietnam quickly convert to 4G technology.

Thieu Phuong Nam, CEO of Qualcomm Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia also said that 2015 is the time for Vietnam to implement 4G, especially in big cities. However, this technology cannot be developed widely in Vietnam. Local network operators should deploy 4G in some big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Nam said 4G technology is the next step of development of wireless technology, so it is possible to take advantage of the infrastructure of 2G and 3G technologies. For the networks using the Nokia solution, it is easy to upgrade the software to use 4G.

Dau Tu