“Vietnam is behind the world in applying 4G,” the director of a telco said when asked to comment about information that the largest mobile network operators plan to begin providing 4G services this November.

He went on to say that telcos all are ready to provide 4G and will start as soon as the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) grants licenses to them.

He repeatedly said that deploying 4G is inevitable and that it is necessary to start as soon as possible. As 4G is a growing tendency in the world, Vietnam would lag behind the world if it does not utilize 4G right now. 

However, while mobile network operators have been aware of the necessity to deploy 4G as soon as possible, the watchdog agency believed that telcos should fully exploit 3G first before thinking of 4G deployment.

Of the three largest mobile network operators, Viettel, the military telco, is the one most eagers to start 4G application. The firm has repeatedly urged MIC to allow to deploy 4G in 2015.

It has stated that it will provide 4G services on a trial basis this October, while it plans to set up 12,000 4G stations by the end of the first quarter of 2016.

VinaPhone and MobiFone, the other two large mobile network operators, have also got ready for 4G. Pham Duc Long, CEO of the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group (VNPT), which runs VinaPhone, said that once it begins, it will go ahead very fast.

According to Qualcomm, the world’s largest chip manufacturer, 422 4G networks have been set up in 143 countries by September 2015, while 670 network operators in 181 countries have invested to develop 4G.

According to Thieu Phuong Nam, Qualcomm Indochina’s CEO, the cost price of every 4G’s MB is 99 percent lower than 2G, while the data exchange speed is 12,000 times higher. 

Though 3G can be used to watch HD films, it only allows the average data transmission of 3-4Mbps. Meanwhile, with 4G, the speed could be 45 Mbps, or 10 times higher than 3G, while the cost price is lower.

MIC initially planned to grant first licenses in the first quarter of 2016. If so, 4G services would only be available on the market no sooner than the second quarter, because it will take mobile network operators several months to make preparations.

Meanwhile, mobile network operators have suggested that MIC should grant licenses right now to the network operators that provide 4G based on existing frequencies.

TBKTVN