Vietnam, together with Singapore, is the first country to launch 5G in ASEAN. According to Naveen Menon from Cisco, Singapore will begin 5G in 2020, while Vietnam plans to start in 2021.

Cisco’s report on 5G in Southeast Asia released on October 17 pointed out that the initial growth of the 5G application is expected to come from high-end clients and high-value devices. The number of subscribers will increase rapidly later as the devices become more popular.

A study conducted by A.T Kearney found that 5G can provide 50 times higher speed than 4G, and it requires much lower energy consumption.

High speed, low latency and improved quality will allow telcos to provide super-fast Internet connections, and enable high-resolution video streaming, cloud-based entertainment, and interactive content services based on augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) to consumers.

Vietnam, together with Singapore, is the first country to launch 5G in ASEAN. According to Naveen Menon from Cisco, Singapore will begin 5G in 2020, while Vietnam plans to start in 2021.

These features will help to quickly commercialize 5G use, including apps for smart city, 4.0 industry, IoT apps with large scales, and more. Telecommunications operators are able to increase revenue from both retail consumers and corporate customers.

Naveen Menon said it is the right time for telecommunication operators to launch 5G services as the mobile data usage rate is growing rapidly as users consume more and more services and content on their personal devices.

Meanwhile, businesses are trying to take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution with AI, IoT, 3D printing, robot technologies and advanced wearables to enhance growth.

The success in the application of these technologies will depend largely on the platform and connection capability of telecom networks. This gives great opportunities to telecommunication operators to increase their presence in the corporate market and maintain long-term growth in this segment of customers.

Citing figures from the report, the representative from Cisco said the launch of 5G service can help increase the revenue of telcos in Vietnam by up to $300 million a year, commencing from 2025.

It is expected that by 2025, the prevalence of 5G will be 25-40 percent in major countries in the region, while the total number of 5G subscribers in the ASEAN region is forecast to exceed 200 million by 2025. In Vietnam, the number of 5G subscribers in Vietnam will account for over 6 percent.

Experts predicted that telecommunication operators need to invest $10 billion in the 5G infrastructure in the region by 2025. Of this, the investment capital in 5G in Vietnam would be $1.5-2.5 billion in the 2020-2025 period. 

Ngoc An

Viettel launches 5G technology in Laos

Military-run telecom group Viettel plans to roll out fifth generation (5G) technology in Laos, its third overseas launch of the service after Cambodia and Myanmar.