The number of new mobile phone subscribers reached 4.3 million in the first month of this year, up 169 percent against the same period last year, according to the National Statistics Office.

To date, Vietnam has around 135.3 million telephone subscribers, a 62 percent rise from last year. Of the figure, nearly 15 percent are fixed phone subscribers and the remaining 85 percent are mobile phone owners.

The number of broad-band Internet subscribers rose sharply to 3.1 million, marking a 46 percent rise over the same period last year.

Experts in telecommunications reckon that the steep rises resulted from promotion programmes that service providers have vehemently launched in recent time, including fee cuts or remissions.

The country is forecast to see a sharper rise in the number of mobile phone subscribers as several network operators are planning fee reductions and attractive service packages in an attempt to grab a larger market share.

Vietnam now has eight mobile phone service providers. The Military Telecom Corporation (Viettel) now holds the largest market share, followed by the first two giants, MobiFone and VinaPhone./.