Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT) on Thursday launched a satellite mobile service known as VinaPhone-S.

The VinaPhone-S is a satellite mobile service covering about two-thirds globally and 100 per cent of Vietnamese territory.

With this satellite mobile service, customers using post-paid sim cards can easily implement voice services, short message service (SMS), and satellite navigation (GPS) to ensure their communication anywhere, without being dependent on telecoms infrastructure, weather, and geography.

For State agencies, VinaPhone-S will become an effective solution for forest rangers, fisheries resources surveillance and coast guards and assist people living in remote, border and island areas.

For production and business activities, VinaPhone-S will help ensure smooth communications for businesses in mining, fisheries, international transportation, and construction, apart from tourism.

For individuals, who frequently travel or work in areas without cellular network such as fishermen, oil rig workers, forest rangers, and coastal patrols, the services will be a significant tool.

Speaking at the event, Pham Duc Long, general director of VNPT, said that three quarters of Viet Nam's land was mountains and it had about 1,000,000 sq.km of coastline under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of Viet Nam that needed to ensure regular and continuous communication. 

He noted that Viet Nam had about two million fishermen, who are engaged in offshore fishing and they needed to communicate with the mainland and their relatives.

In addition, communications are also need to be well connected for organisations and businesses operating in the field of maritime transportation, mining, oil and gas, and tourism.

However, the use of GSM technology cannot meet every requirement. Thus, the current mobile technology did not allow mobile waves covering all remote and mountainous areas and sea as well, Long said.