Photo: T.L
The race between the three carriers Viettel, VNPT, and MobiFone has always been the focus of the telecommunications market, especially after Vietnam launched the Mobile Number Portalbility service.
The MNP race is over
Four years after the Mobile Number Portalbility service which enables mobile phone subscribers to switch networks but keep numbers, Viettel was the winner, attracting more than 1.8 million subscribers from other carriers.
Though the military-run telecom giant lost 623,000 subscribers to other carriers, it is still in an advantaged position. VinaPhone of VNPT lost more than 626,000 subscribers, but in return, this carrier got 980,000 subscribers from other telecom service providers.
MobiFone was not profitable, but based on data, it is the most stable compared to Viettel, VNPT, according to data from the Department of Telecommunications under the Ministry of Information and Communications.
It’s no surprise that Viettel won the MNP race. Viettel had the broadest and deepest coverage area with almost 130,000 transceiver stations, 50,000 4G stations, and over 70 million leases until Vietnam started switching networks to retain numbers. Bao tested 5G first. VNPT and MobiFone lack these strengths.
Since then, Viettel has invested in global technological standards and deployed products including the SOC smart network monitoring system, core network system, 5G radio network, and intelligent control center system. “Viettel is a global corporation,” stated Chairman and General Director Tao Duc Thang.
EY Auditing Company claims that competitiveness and cheap rates have hurt Vietnam’s mobile business. Viettel’s consolidated revenue grew 6.06%, but its domestic telecoms revenue only grew 3.8%.
Entering data race
Viettel, VNPT, and MobiFone have been trying to become digital technology companies instead of telecom companies. Telecommunications services are becoming saturated, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications, since income only increased by 1.6% in 2022 compared to 2021.
Meanwhile, data usage and 4G and 5G mobile technologies have boosted OTT apps like Zalo, Messenger, and Viber, weakening mobile telecommunications services. SMS and phone income drop to 60%, according to EY.
Viettel pursues new markets while leading the mobile telecoms sector with 54% market share. Mr. Tao Duc Thang said that in 2023, Viettel would invest in 5G networks, Mobile Money, and digital subscribers, notably the Viettel Cloud service ecosystem with an expected income of VND1,000 billion.
VNPT is rushing to invest in infrastructure despite leading broadband services with a 39.5% market share. VNPT and Nokia have installed Vietnam’s first 10 GB/s fiber optic broadband infrastructure. By 2025, VNPT executives expect this firm to become Vietnam’s premier digital infrastructure and services provider and a Digital Hub of Asia.
MobiFone is quite slow in this new race. “MobiFone’s vital mission must be to expand new space when traditional services decline”, said To Manh Cuong, General Director of MobiFone. MobiFone mentioned investing in a data center in Hoa Lac, and building digital infrastructure. Further, MobiFone wants to gain a position in fields such as data business, digital finance, digital health, and digital education…
Viettel, VNPT, and MobiFone will compete with other significant local and foreign technological enterprises. Although aggressive, Vietnam’s information technology business is appealing, predicted at $11.8 billion in 2025 compared to $7 billion in 2020 and can reach $16.5 billion in 2030, according to EY.
It predicts that by 2025, mobile payments, e-commerce, IoT, digital advertising, digital content, app transactions, digital communication, education, online gaming, music, and health would dominate digital services. Any telecoms company that soon joins the digital services supply chain will have several chances.