Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said after the Government releases the decree on frequency auctioning, slated for Q4, MIC will be able to grant 4G/5G frequencies to telecom carriers, paving the way for telecom carriers to increase the capacity and 5G coverage nationwide by 2022.

According to Hung, the digital infrastructure development strategy sets a goal that Vietnam will be listed among the top 30 in the world prior to 2025.

Vietnam strives to have 100 percent of people using smartphones by 2023.

Prior to that, when implementing the auctioning of 2.6 GHz band, MIC had to follow legal documents, including the Law on Asset Auctioning and the Law on Public Asset Management. It has to check the procedures to make them fit the new regulation.

Experts warn that defining the starting prices of frequencies will be a difficult problem, because this is the first time that Vietnam has granted the right to use radio frequencies (a type of intangible assets) through auctioning. PM’s Decision 16/2012 only stipulates the principles for defining prices, not the specific method to determine starting prices.

In Vietnam, all three large network operators, namely Viettel, VNPT and MobiFone, are experimenting with 5G and awaiting frequency auctioning to be able to officially begin providing services.

A report on the digital economy in Southeast Asia in 2020 by Google, Temasek and Bain showed that Vietnam’s digital economy has value of $14 billion, or $2 billion higher than the last year. Of the total users of digital services, new users account for 41 percent, the highest percentage in the region.

Meanwhile, a survey by General Statistics Office found that Vietnam is one of three Asian countries with positive economic growth. The economy has value of $343 billion (Singapore $337.5 billion and Malaysia $336.3 billion)

The Government of Vietnam identifies telecom infrastructure as one of the pillars of the digital economy, including both mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure. The development of broadband infrastructure in the last 2-3 years has paved the way for all business fields to develop.

The Institute of Information and Communications estimated that the contribution by 5G to GDP growth may reach 7.34 percent by 2025.

Therefore, the socio-economic development strategy for 2021-2030 and the socio-economic development plan in 2021-2025 mentions digital transformation, telecommunication, IT, digital technology, digital government and digital skills. 

Nguyen Thai

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