The Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) announced on 21 September that it has started providing 5G service and put into operation the infrastructure of Internet of Things (IoT) in Ho Chi Minh City.

Secretary of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan speaks at the ceremony (Source: VNA)

Major General Hoang Son, Deputy General Director of Viettel Group said that after more than 3 months of making the first test call on the 5G platform, Viettel officially broadcasted 5G network on a trial basis in ward 12 of District 10, HCM City, enabling people to directly experience 5G technology.

The firm also officially put into use 1,000 broadcasting stations to create a coverage area connecting millions of IoT devices (narrow-band Internet of Things (NB-IoT)), thus supporting all social activities such as transportation, electricity, water, applications and service.

HCM City has become the first locality in the country to provide 5G service and large-scale IoT coverage.

Son said according to the Global System for Mobile Telecommunications Association (GSMA), Viettel is the only representative of Vietnam on the list of the first 50 operators in the world to successfully deploy 5G technology. With its plan to commercialize 5G in 2020, Viettel will make Viet Nam one of the leading countries in deploying 5G service.

Addressing the ceremony, Secretary of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan underlined the city’s determination to build a smart city, saying that the cooperation with Viettel to build modern ICT infrastructure and core platforms for digital society will help the city realize its vision and strategy, maintaining its leading role in the country in digital transition.

The city has more than 10,000 information technology businesses, Nhan said, adding that 5G applications will create golden opportunities for businesses to develop services.

He asked the municipal People's Committee, the Ministry of Information and Communications, and Viettel Group to gradually expand 5G application, especially in areas such as hi-tech parks, and the Quang Trung Software Park, which house many IT businesses; and universities that need 5G applications.

Currently, HCM City has nearly 9,000 telecom broadcast stations, more than 17 million mobile phone subscribers, including over 8 million users of 3G and 4G services. In the first 6 months of 2019, the city's electronics - information technology industry grew by over 28 percent, 4 times higher than the industrial sector’s growth.

Viettel plans to complete NB-IoT coverage in Ha Noi this month, and expand to all localities nationwide in the next two years.

(Source: VNA)