Viettel already deployed a total of 6,500 base stations across Vietnam
Vietnamese telco Viettel’s 5G network reached 4 million subscribers after the company launched the service in October 2024.
“We gained 3 million 5G subscribers within two weeks of the launch, and after two months, this number has grown to 4 million. These 4 million subscribers account for 70% of 5G-enabled devices within the coverage area of our 6,500 5G base stations,” said Le Ba Tan, technical director of Viettel Group
During this period, the average 5G user consumed approximately 21GB of data per month, a 1.7-fold increase from the initial usage rate at launch. With 10 million Viettel customers currently owning 5G-capable devices, the company said it sees significant potential for expansion, estimating an additional 6 million subscribers as the next wave of adopters.
To serve corporate clients, Viettel is targeting sectors with high connectivity needs, such as industrial zones, ports and airports.
Viettel has established two 5G laboratories in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. These facilities enable developers to test applications and address challenges such as signal interference or protocol mismatches, ensuring that new IoT and 5G technologies are well-suited for Vietnam’s growing market.
In October, Viettel launched what it claimed to be Vietnam’s first commercial 5G service. At the time of the launch, Viettel said it had deployed network infrastructure to provide 5G services to all 63 localities in Vietnam, focusing in particular on tourism sites, seaports, airports, industrial parks, hospitals and schools.
The telco noted that the new 5G service can offer connection speeds of up to 1 Gbps, with nearly zero ping. Viettel is deploying the 5G service using both Standalone (SA) and Non-Standalone (NSA) architectures.
For business customers, Viettel said its new 5G network will provide a total of 130 use case options for industrial production, smart city, logistics-transport, agriculture, healthcare, education and energy sectors, integrated with cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.
Rival operator VNPT launched 5G services in December 2024, while MobiFone is accelerating its preparations for 5G commercialization after securing a C3 spectrum license.
“We aim to launch 5G commercial services in the next few months,” said Nguyen Tuan Huy, Head of Digital Transformation at MobiFone.
