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| VNPT engineers maintain network stations in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo VNPT |
Vietnam’s largest mobile network operators competed in a bidding war for the rights to the country’s 5G 3700-3800MHz spectrum, designated as C2, according to the Radio Frequency Management Authority under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC).
The starting price for the spectrum over a 15-year period is VND1.95 trillion, and the winner must deploy at least 30 percent of the promised number of transceiver stations in the first two years. In an earlier development, an originally planned auction for frequencies 3800-3900 MHz designated as C3 was canceled due to a lack of qualified bidders.
Prior to this, on March 8, 2024, an auction session for frequencies 2,500-2,600MHz designated as B1 was held, and Viettel won the auction for VND7.5 trillion. Viettel will not participate in other auctions for 5G spectrum after winning the previous bid.
Some forecasts suggest that 5G will generate US$1.5 billion in revenue for Vietnam’s network operators by 2030. By 2025, 5G could contribute up to 7.4% to Vietnam’s GDP growth.
All eyes are on VNPT, which is one of the major mobile networks other than Viettel and is seen as the most likely bidder today. His two other large networks in this country are MobiFone and his Vietnammobile.
According to VNPT representatives, the company is working around the clock to prepare and implement a comprehensive strategy to develop a digital ecosystem of products and services to take full advantage of the power of 5G.
VNPT said it will provide 5G services such as cloud, IoT, AI, machine learning, and data analysis to the industrial sector, and various IoT applications and digital services to the general public. VNS
