The army-run Viettel Group will become the third mobile service provider in Cameroon after successfully beating bids by major international firms.

The Viettel Cameroon S.A.R.L (a joint venture between Viettel Group and Bestinver Cameroon S.A.R.L) beat other world famous firms like Bharti Airtel , Monaco Telecom and Korea Telecom.

Viettel Cameroon S.A.R.L has pledged to provide 2G and 3G services to 81 percent of the country's population when it begins operation.

This would be a big boost for the African nation's telecommunication market with high quality service at reasonable prices, company officials said.

Cameroon , with a population of 20 million, is one of several African nations that have only two mobile service providers. It does not have any 3G infrastructure at present.-VNA