Hanoi (VNA) – Viettel Group successfully secured the coveted B2-B2' spectrum blocks (713-723 MHz and 768-778 MHz) in an auction held on May 20.
The military – owned telecom giant outbid Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) after two rounds of bidding.
Major General Tao Duc Thang, Chairman and CEO of Viettel Group, said the winning bid amounted to more than 1.95 trillion VND (75 million USD), which he noted is comparable to average global prices for similar spectrum allocations.
This marked the corporation’s fourth attempt to acquire the 700 MHz band, underscoring its strategic importance to the company's target to increase its network coverage to 99% by 2030.
Thang said securing this spectrum block is crucial and timely for Viettel to carry out the Politburo’s Resolution 57 on breakthrough development in science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation.
With its superior long-range transmission and penetration capabilities, the B2-B2' block of the 700 MHz band will not only provide broad and effective coverage to rural, mountainous and remote areas, and national highways, but is also ideal for delivering telecommunications signals deep into high-rise buildings and hard-to-reach locations in urban areas.
Technically, the 700 MHz band offers a coverage radius 1.8 times greater than the 1,800 MHz band, enabling Viettel to optimise operation costs and save trillions of VND while enhancing user experience in challenging areas.
With the “diamond” spectrum, Viettel plans to roll out high-speed, low-latency mobile broadband services over 4G and 5G networks, serving remote work, online education, entertainment streaming, Internet of Things (IoT) services, and several applications like smart city, smart agriculture, and smart transport management.
The group will mobilise all resources to integrate the new frequency band into its infrastructure, targeting over 20,000 5G base stations before December 31, 2025.
Globally, the 700 MHz band is widely adopted for 4G and 5G networks, recognised for optimising speed and coverage while reducing network congestion in densely populated areas./.
VNA
