Vinaphone to Invest US$100Mln to Expand Networks in 2005

Vinaphone, considered the largest and oldest telecommunication network in Vietnam, will invest around US$100 million this year to upgrade and develop its broadcasting network with four new switchboards and 1,000 new broadcasting and transmitting stations installed and the current switchboards upgraded.

The plan was made in a bid to provide customers with better services and partly due to a series of technical problems happed for its mobile phone network during the Lunar New Year 2005 (February 6-12), causing lots of troubles for subscribers. At that time, many mobile phone users could not make a phone call or send a short message because demand of mobile phones users sharply increased, sometimes by 60 per cent at peak hours, explained Hoang Trung Hai, Director of the Vietnam Telecommunication Service Company (Vinaphone).

After discussions with the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, the company will continue reducing charges of its services this year, revealed the director. “Telecom charges in Vietnam are always a sensitive issue. Charge reduction has become a trend of the local market, however, it needs a fixed progress and time.” Improving the quality of services and lowering telecom charges in Vietnam are requirements for the international integration that Vinaphone is always a pioneer in order to affirm its position in the domestic market, Mr Hai concluded.

• K.P