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The earliest 5G services are set to be commercialised in mid-2020
following trials conducted through 2019. (Photo VNPT)
According to analysts from Fitch Solutions, 5G appears to be high on the
Government’s priority list, with the earliest services set to be commercialised
in mid-2020 following trials conducted through 2019.
“We believe the impact will be greatest in the enterprise segment, particularly
in Việt Nam’s rapidly growing manufacturing sector, with Government initiatives
supporting industry uptake. At the consumer level, we expect early launches to
centre on larger, higher-income cities, with operators likely to focus on both
mobile and fixed-wireless services,” the analysts said.
While fibre-based broadband connections in Vietnam have grown significantly in
recent quarters, Fitch believed that fixed-wireless 5G could still serve as a
complement to existing fixed services and support the development and adoption
of higher bandwidth services, such as virtual reality (VR) video streaming and
cloud gaming applications.
“We anticipate a potential delay to 5G launches as a result of the Covid-19
pandemic, which has forced operators to increase investments into their existing
4G networks and raise bandwidth on existing fixed broadband connections;
reportedly, Viettel had to double bandwidth for all fibre-to-the-home (FTTH)
subscribers and, together with other State-owned operators VNPT-Vinaphone and
Mobifone, introduce bigger mobile data allocations.”
The analysts said while these short term moves could put investments into 5G
networks on the backburner, the Government could pressure the State-owned
operators to focus on 5G deployment. Licences and spectrum are yet to be
allocated, although the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) could
convert 5G trial licences, allocated in 2019, into commercial licences.
Through Resolution 52, introduced in September 2019, the Government aims to
actively involve itself in the wider adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies to
drive the country’s economic growth.
“We expect the government to lend support to the wider 5G ecosystem through the
creation of test beds, or through enterprise grants to adopt 5G technologies,”
Fitch said.
The MIC is already looking at licensing certain frequencies to domestic
manufacturers of 5G products, and has stated that it will support the
development of 5G-capable chips, although further details have not been
disclosed.
Viettel has 5G partnerships with Ericsson and Nokia, while Mobifone has an
agreement with Samsung. VNPT-Vinaphone is working with Nokia. Vietnamese
conglomerate Vingroup signed an agreement with Fujitsu and Qualcomm in June 2019
to jointly develop and manufacture 5G-compatible handsets in Vietnam.
According to Fitch analysts, the wider availability of low-cost 5G devices in
Vietnam will support uptake, primarily among cost-conscious consumers.
“In terms of industry applications, we expect to see strong use of 5G in the
manufacturing sector. Adoption of 5G-enabled sensors across the production line
is a certainty, although this will centre most largely on the use of private
networks in the short run, such as those developed by private players like
Sigfox. Operators have made no indication of their 5G plans for the enterprise
and industrial sectors, although we expect them to look at developing 5G
networks in key economic zones and industrial areas,” the analysts said.
Source: VNA
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