Viettel offers free 4G phone conversion support for all customers.
This program is only valid from now until October 15, 2024. Eligible customers will receive a text message inviting them to visit Viettel stores or contact Viettel staff in their area for assistance.
On September 20, 2024, Viettel Telecom announced free 4G phone conversion support for all remaining 2G customers. Priority will be given to 10 mountainous provinces in the Northwest region facing significant difficulties due to storms, floods, and natural disasters (including Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang, Hoa Binh, Bac Kan, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Cao Bang, and Ha Giang).
Along with a series of policies implemented in recent days to support people severely affected by Typhoon Yagi and the resulting floods and landslides, this is the next action Viettel Telecom is taking to help people stabilize their lives as soon as possible, demonstrating the company's social responsibility towards the community.
The recipients of the free phone are all customers currently using 2G-only phones on the Viettel network who have not yet upgraded to 4G. The supported phone models include 4G phones that meet basic calling needs, phones with Cloud phone features for accessing OTT applications, and phones with keypads, loud volume, and voice prompts for elderly customers. Each customer is entitled to one free phone or discounted phone purchase.
This program is only valid from now until October 15, 2024. Eligible customers will receive a text message inviting them to visit Viettel stores or contact Viettel staff in their area for assistance.
This is considered Viettel's most drastic action to date in converting its last remaining 2G customers to 4G devices. It is expected that approximately 700,000 customers (living in remote and disadvantaged areas) will benefit from this offer, equivalent to a cost of nearly 300 billion VND.
Previously, Viettel had implemented a 4G phone donation program in 1,700 disadvantaged communes (as stipulated in Decision 861/QD-TTg dated June 4, 2021) and 50 communes (as stipulated in Decision No. 353/QD-TTg dated March 15, 2022 of the Prime Minister) and for customers who are poor and near-poor households nationwide.
Just two weeks after its launch, 100,000 Viettel customers have successfully received free 4G devices, costing over 40 billion VND in total. In Nghe An province alone, after 15 days of implementation, nearly 3,000 customers have received free 4G devices from Viettel, out of a total of nearly 7,000 eligible customers.
Over 3 million customers successfully upgraded to 4G in August 2024.
Following the roadmap of the Ministry of Information and Communications, and through various decisive measures, Viettel has supported the conversion of more than 8 million 4G devices nationwide since the beginning of 2024. In August alone, more than 3 million 2G devices were successfully converted to 4G.
In addition to 10,000 mobile phone exchange points strategically located in densely populated areas and even in remote villages, Viettel Telecom also collaborates with community digital transformation teams to popularize digital skills among the people. Simultaneously, it partners with retail chains such as mobile phone and electronics stores to provide customers with the most convenient support.
The proactive implementation of various support programs has helped Viettel Telecom reduce the number of 2G subscribers across its entire network to below 2%.
Besides supporting people in switching to new phones, Viettel is also expanding its 4G coverage with over 6,000 new 4G base stations installed in just the past year (bringing 4G coverage to over 96%, providing 4G coverage to an additional 4 million people in remote and rural areas), increasing network capacity by 20% to enhance user experience. The goal is to achieve 4G coverage equivalent to 2G coverage, reaching over 98% of the population by 2025.
