Telecom giant Viettel and Sweden’s Ericsson Group successfully conducted the first call using fifth generation (5G) technology in Vietnam on May 10 (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Telecom giant Viettel andSweden’s Ericsson Group successfully conducted the first call using fifthgeneration (5G) technology in Vietnam on May 10.
The call was part of Viettel’s 5G technical testing programme to evaluate theapplication of the technology in the country.
At the ceremony, its network connection speed with end-use devices reached 1.5to 1.7Gbps, surpassing the theoretical speed limit of the 4G LTE network andequal to that of commercial fiber optic cable.
This event marked Vietnam as one of the earliest countries to successfully testa 5G network, after the US, Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
“We want to be at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and developthe ICT sector, so that Vietnamese people and businesses can compete in theglobal economy. That's why it is necessary to deploy 5G early,” said Ministerof Information and Communication Nguyen Manh Hung.
He affirmed that 5G is an opportunity for Vietnam toboost its ranking in the world. The country will bring 5G into commercialoperation in 2020 and will be one of the first countries to deploy the latestnetwork.
“One of the applications in the first phase of 5G is smart factories. Vietteland other network providers must experiment to cover 5G in all hi-tech zones,national innovation centres and smart factories by 2020,” he added.
“With the mission of pioneering a digital society in Vietnam, Viettel isconfident in mastering modern technologies. In terms of transmissioninfrastructure, IoT technology based on 4G LTE-M and NB-IoT has been deployedby Viettel to become one of the first 50 operators in the world to deploy thesetechnologies. Viettel is ready to apply artificial intelligence solutions tosolve social problems. Viettel also builds the largest and most sophisticatednetwork security team in Việt Nam to protect the safety of users on theinternet,” said Le Dang Dung, Viettel Group’s acting chairman and generaldirector.
Ericsson has accompanied Viettel in the experimental implementation of 5G.
Denis Brunetti, Head of Ericsson Vietnam, Myanmar,Cambodia and Laos said Viettel and Ericsson acknowledged the importance ofusing 5G in applying and improving the benefits of Industry 4.0. It wasexpected to promote digitalisation in all sectors including production,agriculture, energy, healthcare and education.
By bringing 5G services to Vietnam early, Viettel andEricsson have been building a foundation for Industry 4.0. 5G will provideimportant infrastructure to create momentum and allow Vietnam to attract moreFDI in the hi-tech sector.
Viettel said it would continue to expand itsexperimental 5G network in Hanoi and HCM City. The experiment would help theMinistry of Information and Communication evaluate 5G technology based oncoverage areas, capacity, maximum speed and compatibility with currentinfrastructure. The ministry would have a foundation to map out policies androadmap for commercialisation of 5G in 2020.
In January, the ministry granted licences to Vietteland MobiFone to implement 5G experiments for one year from January 22, 2019 toJanuary 22, 2020. –VNS/VNA
