Vietnam - Key Statistics, Telecommunications Market and Regulatory Overview, and Broadcasting

Vietnam initially fell well short of the ambitious targets it set for the wider expansion of its telecommunications infrastructure. However, after reviewing its approach and introducing some competition into the market, this ‘socialist oriented market economy’ has built a fresh growth momentum. The mobile market has been especially dynamic, internet is now certainly on the move, with broadband internet having taken off at last. The previously heavy reliance on DSL is changing with the wider deployment of wireless broadband services. And the significant presence of fixed-line services (teledensity of 17%) throughout the country has been against the global trend for a developing economy. The continuing government involvement in the telecom sector, however, still raises major questions about its commitment to deregulation and liberalisation. The administration seems to be finding it hard to ‘let go’.

This report presents a set of the most currently available statistics and provides a general overview of country’s telecoms sector and its regulatory environment.

Key developments:

The broadband market has started to grow, although it stalled in early 2011; wireless broadband services are increasingly popular; the booming mobile market reached a penetration of 180% in 2011; a downturn in demand has hit the market, however; it is yet to be seen how this will play out; the operators will continue to fuel a highly competitive situation; Viettel has taken control of EVN Telecom; the government continues to explore strategies for part privatising the state-owned telcos; Vietnam’s second telecom satellite, Vinasat-2, has been successfully launched; the MIC fined mobile operators for not correctly managing the registration of subscribers; the MIC revoked the licences of service providers for failure to roll out networks in time.

Companies covered in this report include:

VNPT; Vinaphone; Mobifone; Viettel; S-Fone; EVN Telecom; Vietnamobile (Hanoi Telecom); GMobile.