Viettel has 3 million 5G users, a growth rate double that of 4G.
On October 31, 2024, Viettel Telecom announced that, after 15 days of its official launch, its 5G network had 3 million users.
Of these, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Hai Phong are recorded as the 5 localities with the highest concentration of 5G customers, accounting for nearly 50% of the total existing subscribers.
Compared to the 4G network launched more than 7 years ago, the user growth rate of 5G is double, with Viettel reaching 3 million 4G customers after just one month of official commercialization.
Explaining why 5G is attracting so many users.
With the vision of deploying a 5G network for everyone, customers don't need to change SIM cards or buy new data plans; they only need a 5G-compatible device to experience Viettel's 5G network immediately.
The "do nothing" feature—requiring no action—is the primary reason users quickly learn about, try, or decide to purchase a 5G plan. This is also the strategy Viettel believes will help the company achieve its goal of providing every citizen with a super-fast connection, similar to what it achieved in popularizing mobile services and smartphones previously.
Viettel Telecom stated that although subscribing to a 5G package is not mandatory, the system has recorded hundreds of thousands of registrations in the past two weeks alone. The majority of customers switched to 5G packages to experience superior speeds and enjoy special offers from Viettel. Furthermore, customers can still use the service normally even in areas with only 4G coverage.
Currently, Viettel offers 11 prepaid and 8 postpaid 5G packages designed with costs comparable to 4G packages but with double the data capacity, along with free access to premium content. With 5G, Viettel is offering for the first time large data packages of up to 50GB/day, allowing customers virtually unlimited mobile internet access. Therefore, shortly after their launch, many customers with 4G devices quickly recognized this advantage and subscribed to these packages. The most popular packages are: Prepaid: 5G135, 5G150, 5G160; Postpaid: N200, N250, N300.
To help customers access 5G packages more easily, Viettel has also launched a service registration portal.Viettel 5G HubHere, customers receive advice on suitable 5G packages, along with various discounts and free months of service for accompanying services.
A significant step forward for Vietnam's telecommunications industry.
5G is a new technology that has been widely deployed worldwide since 2020-2021. Initially, mobile operators around the world prioritized deploying 5G in areas with developed societies, a high concentration of customers who own 5G devices, and a high demand for internet access.
In pioneering countries in 5G deployment such as the UK, US, Japan, and South Korea, the focus is on urban areas before gradually expanding to rural regions. The number of 5G base stations deployed in the first year is only 20% to 50% of the number of 4G base stations. After five years of deployment, 5G network coverage is now only equivalent to 60-80% of 4G coverage.
In the UK, when 5G first launched in 2019, EE only had coverage in 16 cities, including the first four capital cities to receive 5G: London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham, and Manchester. At launch, the first 1,500 stations that EE upgraded to 5G accounted for only 25% of the total data across the network, but only covered 15% of the UK population.
In Vietnam, Viettel is the first network operator to deploy 5G and has already covered the capitals of all 63 provinces and cities – areas where 5G will be widely used, such as administrative offices, tourist areas, hospitals, seaports, airports, and universities, with a number of base stations equivalent to 18% of the 4G network at launch (6,500 5G stations compared to 36,000 4G stations).
5G uses a higher frequency band than 4G (5G uses 2.6GHz, 4G uses 1.8GHz). Signal attenuation at 2.6GHz is greater than at 1.8GHz, so 5G has a narrower coverage area compared to 4G, by 15-20%.
That's why 5G coverage wasn't very widespread in the initial launch period, but being a pioneer in providing commercial 5G network is still considered a significant step forward in telecommunications technology in Vietnam.
In the future, as infrastructure is expanded and optimized, the 5G experience will become increasingly stable. The deployment of 5G will not only serve individual users but also unlock the potential for developing real-time services, promising to create many groundbreaking applications in the future.
