Viettel wins first 5G broadband network auction

The band had a starting price of VND3.9 trillion (US$158 million). Viettel paid a cost of VND7.5 trillion to win the auction.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung said the bidding is a historic day for the telecom sector and the commercialization of 5G in Viet Nam.

Winning the auction to obtain the right to use radio frequencies to deploy 5G network is a necessary condition for Viettel to catch up with telecom technology trends in the world, continuing to develop 4G and switching to 5G technology.

This is also a step to accelerate the national infrastructure and digital service ecosystem, thereby creating new driving forces for economic growth and productivity.

Currently, 5G devices researched and developed by Viettel are ready to run on the 2500-2600 MHz waveband. Viettel had committed to launching 5G as soon as possible.

Two other 5G bands, 3700-3800 MHz (C2) and 3800-3900 MHz (C3), both with a starting price of VND1.89 trillion are next to go up for auction on March 14 and March 19.

As the commercialization of 5G service in Viet Nam shows signs of profit, Viettel, VNPT, and MobiFone all hope to accelerate this process, which is expected to speed up the establishment of a digital society, economy, and government.

It is expected that new players must invest up to US$1 billion in network infrastructure to make use of 5G technologies.

Earlier, the Ministry of Information and Communications picked this year to roll out the commercialization of 5G nationwide.

On January 11, 2024, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh approved the national information and communications infrastructure development plan in 2021-2030 with the vision towards 2050, umder which Viet Nam will strive for a minimum average download speed of 100 Mbps by 2025 for 5G network and it is expected that 5G network will cover 99 percent of population by 2030./.