It is time for Vietnam to implement the 4G LTE network to meet customers’ rising demand for high-speed data services, according to telecom experts. 

Talking at an international conference on 4G LTE 2016 held in Hanoi on August 18 by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) in collaboration with the International Data Group, MoIC Deputy Minister Phan Tam said 2016 is a good start for LTE and 2017 will be the year the 4G network develops in Vietnam. 

Since the end of 2015, the MoIC granted licences allowing four major networks -Viettel, Mobifone, VNPT and FPT - to pilot the 4G LTE network and official licences are expected to be granted at the end of this year. 

According to Thieu Phuong Nam, Director of Qualcomm Indochina, the piloting of the 4G network in Vietnam has been successful and network providers have chosen technologies and bandwidth suitable with the development trend of 4G LTE in the region and the world. 

Nam said the subscription fee of 4G is not very different from the 3G subscription fee. 

According to the representative of the Authority of Telecommunications, Vietnam currently has 136 million mobile subscribers and 37 million 3G subscribers and the demand for high-speed mobile internet services has been on the rise. 

He stressed that 4G LTE implementation must ensure efficiency, quality and price as well as issues on information security. 

According to a report from the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), as of the first quarter 2016, the number of 4G LTE subscribers globally reached 1.29 billion with the addition of two million new subscribers each day on average. 

As of May, 2016, 503 4G LTE networks have been commercialised in 167 countries.

VNA