MIC makes 4G about-face

The ministry’s masterplan for the industry may already prove to be out of date
Photo: Le Toan

Doan Quang Hoan, director general of the Authority of Radio Frequency Management under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), said the ministry would auction the two frequencies at the end of this year.

Samsung Electronics Telecommunication Network senior vice president Joon Ho Park advised Vietnam to deploy 4G technology as soon as feasible.

“The maximum operational costs for 4G is about a quarter of 3G, while maintenance costs are 38 per cent that of 3G. Meanwhile, the price of 4G devices is falling. In 2015, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 210 chip is going to enable production of 4G smart phones that cost below $100,” he said.

Thieu Phuong Nam, Country Manager of Qualcomm Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, said 2015 would be the appropriate time to deploy 4G in major cities. Telecom firms can use existing 2G and 3G infrastructure for 4G. Specifically, firms using Nokia solutions will have a very easy time upgrading to 4G because it only requires a software upgrade.

Fourth Generation or 4G technology allows optimal speed of transmission of 1.5 Gbps, 40 times as fast as 3G. More than 300 telecom firms use 4G and most smartphones are 4G capable. By last year there were already 450 million 4G users globally with the number expected to rise to 830 million in 2015.

Vietnamese mobile operators are only allowed to provide 4G services at the low frequency of 900 MHz which is currently used for 2G services, instead of the higher, more popular frequencies of 1,800 MHz or 2,600 MHz used around the world. This restriction is due to the MIC only being prepared to licence 4G services on the 2,600 MHz frequency in 2020 due to its master plan on national telecommunication development for 2020 approved by the government.

The MIC has licensed VNPT, Viettel, FPT, CMC and VTC as operators to pilot 4G services since 2010.

Vietnam is increasing the digitisation of television. The process is expected to be completed by 2018 in all lowland provinces and by 2020 in the remaining areas, freeing up frequencies for mobile phone services. Vietnam is considering licensing development of broadband in the frequency band of television before 2018 so that 4G LTE can be deployed in lower frequencies earlier.