According to the Authority of Telecommunications (AOT), the Prime Minister has issued the national digital transformation program to 2025, which sets the goal of popularizing 4G/5G services and smartphones in Vietnam. 

Prior to that, the Prime Minister approved an information and telecommunications infrastructure development plan for 2021-2023, with a vision towards 2050, to implement a roadmap on stopping old mobile technology (2G/3G) and promoting the program "one smartphone for every citizen".

AOT has also said that MIC won’t grant licenses to 900MHz/1800MHz wavebands to telcos again, if they don’t have any plan to be sure that there would be no more 2G-only subscribers. Telcos need to take measures to support the shift to 4G/5G to ensure benefits of these subscribers, if they want to be granted 900MHz/1800MHz again.

Telcos have been told to help subscribers shift to higher-technology mobile phones; implement the program on funding the purchase of 4G smartphones/feature phones; and launch service packages that support the shift. They also have to develop BTS (base transceiver stations) to ensure 4G coverage when stopping 2G. 

These must be fulfilled prior to September 2026.

Obstacles

Nguyen Trong Tinh, deputy CEO of Viettel Telecom, said Viettel has applied various measures to promote the 2G-to-4G process for the last four years.

It is estimated that 2G subscribers account for 16 percent of Viettel’s total subscribers. The telco needs to reduce the number of 2G subscribers to below 5 percent by September 2024 to be able to stop 2G.

VNPT also affirmed that in 2015, when 2G subscribers still accounted for 60 percent of traffic, the telco begin implementing the strategy on stopping 2G. In the last two years, VNPT has taken initiative in turning off separate stations with little traffic.

VNPT still has 3 million 2G subscribers, which accounts for 8 percent of total subscribers, and it has built a plan to convert all 2G-only subscribers to 4G/5G as directed.

Nguyen Dinh Hung, CEO of TrueIDC Vietnam, said, unlike some European countries which still want to maintain 2G, Vietnam should turn off 2G as soon as possible.

In these countries, hot lines are running on 2G platform, while many supermarkets and restaurants are still using 2G to make automatic electricity and water use measurement from a distance. But, in Vietnam, these things don’t exist.

“The government of Vietnam should take drastic actions to stop 2G and reserve wavebands for new technologies,” Hung commented.

The Radio and Electronics Association of Vietnam commented that MIC has good policies to prepare for the 2G stop, such as standardization and a ban on 2G-only device imports.

Statistics show that most 2G phone users are older people, residents in rural areas, and small children.

Older people are the most vulnerable during technology transformation periods. This is attributed not only to the difficulties in learning to use new technologies, but also to the lack of resources to upgrade devices. 

According to SonLa province's Department of Information and Communications, in the province, which has many ethnic minorities, 22,800 households, or 7.4 percent of the population, don’t use smartphones. Of this number, 8,700 households are using 2G, and 14,133 don’t have mobile phones.

Tinh from Viettel Telecom noted that though spending on a smartphone is not high, this is still an obstacle for low income earners. He also mentioned the psychological barrier as people think it is difficult to use smartphones and think will have to pay more for 4G services.

Solutions

To encourage people to shift to use 4G, Viettel has launched support programs. Subscribers will receive 4G smartphones for free if they commit to use Viettel’s service packages for at least six months.

Viettel is offering a 50 percent discount for some Samsung models, including Samsung Galaxy A05 (-VND1.49 million).

In the second quarter 2024, Viettel gives financial support of up to VND1 million to 4G smartphone buyers, and offers diverse mobile data packages, helping users access modern technologies in an easy and economical way.

Thiem Cong Nguyen, deputy CEO of MobiFone, said the network operator has shut down 10,000 2G stations, which accounted for 40 percent of total stations of the telco.  It plans to shut down all 2G stations by the end of 2025.

Thai Khang