Mobile phone service providers in Vietnam are estimated to sign up an additional seven million subscribers this year thanks to the expansion of operational networks and the opening of new ones, Minister of Posts and Telecoms Do Trung Ta said.
The figure will help increase the total number of cell phone users in the country to 16 million.
The country’s three largest mobile service networks namely VinaPhone, MobiFone and Viettel will attract 1.5 million subscribers each, totaling 4.5 million while S-Fone will sign up some one million subscribers, Ta said.
The upcoming EVN Telecom and Hanoi Telecom will sign up 1.5 million subscribers, the minister added.
Last year, four operational mobile networks VinaPhone, MobiFone, Viettel and S-Fone attracted a total of 4.5 million subscribers, raising the total subscription number in the country to over 8.6 million.
Of the sum, Viettel attracted nearly two million subscribers, MobiFone over one million and VinaPhone over one million.
This year, the telecom market is estimated to witness a tariff reduction war among mobile phone service providers.
At the moment, VinaPhone and MobiFone, administered by Vietnam Posts and Telecom Corp. (VNPT), are disallowed to decide against call tariffs because they are holding over 30 per cent of market shares, each.
Last year, Viettel grasp a big market share because it introduced competitive call tariffs, which are based on six-second blocks.
However, Minister Ta warned newcomers against applying call tariffs as they want to apply second-by-second tariff calculation. Ta said, with this calculation method, newcomers will face more difficulties in adjusting tariffs in the future, especially when Vietnam enters the WTO.
With the future WTO entry, Vietnam will open its telecom market to foreign firms.
Currently, Vietnam has six mobile phone service networks, including operational VinaPhone, MobiFone, Viettel and S-Fone and two impending Hanoi Telecom and EVN Telecom. The first three are using the GMS technology while the last three use CDMA technology.
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