At the Mobile World Congress 2025 (MWC 2025), Viettel High Technology Industries Corporation (Viettel Group) has just announced testing 5G equipment with Emirates Integrated Telecommunications (Du), the leading network operator in the Middle East.

Accordingly, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in deploying, testing and commercializing 5G solutions in the Middle East. The first phase of the network testing process includes two categories, the 5G OpenRAN public network and the 5G Private Network.

The deployment of 5G solutions will lay the foundation for breakthrough applications such as smart cities, virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR) experiences and the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT)... This event contributes to affirming Vietnam's technological capacity on the global telecommunications map.

5G-Make-in-Vietnam-Mobile-Carrier
5G devices made in Vietnam will be tested in the Middle East. Photo: NVCC

Commenting after announcing the 5G device test with representatives from Vietnam, Mr. Fahad Al Hassawi, General Director of Du, said that this cooperation is an important step forward in providing future-ready connectivity solutions.

“ The integration of 5G Private and OpenRAN will help us build a next-generation telecommunications ecosystem that delivers value to businesses, governments and communities, ” said a representative of the Middle Eastern operator. The successful trials will pave the way for large-scale commercial deployment of 5G in the country.

Viettel is currently the only enterprise in the world that is both a telecommunications network operator and an equipment manufacturer. Thanks to the efforts of domestic enterprises, Vietnam is one of six countries in the world with the capacity to manufacture 5G network equipment.

Over the past years, Viettel has had a strategy to gradually replace imported equipment and move towards using the entire core telecommunications network system with self-produced equipment. Using Make in Vietnam network equipment will contribute to mastering technology, reducing dependence on foreign countries and saving foreign currency for the country.

These are considered breakthroughs, opening up opportunities to change the telecommunications network infrastructure equipment manufacturing industry due to their ability to reduce costs, eliminate dependence and monopoly of other equipment manufacturers in the world.

At the 5th National Forum on Digital Technology Enterprise Development, the Ministry of Information and Communications recognized a number of products researched and manufactured by the Military Industry-Telecoms Group (Viettel) as belonging to the list of key information technology products.

Recognized products include 5G telecommunications network equipment (5G gNodeB radio transceiver network, core network, transmission equipment) and processing chips in 5G equipment. Along with the above decision, these products will enjoy preferential policies according to the law on key IT product manufacturing activities.

Mobile-home-telecom-network-call-5G
Users experience 5G service. Photo: Hoang Ha

According to a report by the Global Telecommunication Association (GSMA), 5G will bring more than 930 billion USD to the global economy by 2030. The benefits of 5G will focus on several key industries such as industrial production (36%), public administration (15%), services (10%), IT and communications (9%), finance (8%),...

In a recent Directive, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh considered accelerating 5G commercialization as a key task and solution to promote economic growth, ensuring the country's growth target of 8% or more in 2025. In that context, mastering 5G technology will help Vietnam soon achieve its set goals.

By the end of January 2025, Viettel had a total of 5.5 million 5G subscribers. Meanwhile, VNPT announced that it had covered the central areas of 63 provinces and cities with many airports and industrial parks, with about 3 million users. Although it has not announced the launch of the service, MobiFone has also provided 5G services to customers.

In the first 2 months of deployment, each Viettel 5G subscriber consumed an average of 21GB of data per month, 1.7 times higher than when the service was first provided. The use of 5G services is expected to increase further in 2025. Initial results show that the growth potential of 5G in Vietnam is huge.

With the potential of 5G technology, the Resolution on piloting a number of special policies and mechanisms to create breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and digital transformation of the National Assembly has allocated a part of the State budget to support businesses to quickly deploy 5G network infrastructure nationwide.

Accordingly, by December 31, 2025, telecommunications enterprises that quickly deploy 5G network infrastructure and put at least 20,000 broadcasting stations into use will be supported with 15% of equipment costs.

Vietnam jumps 15 places in mobile internet speed The Speedtest Global Index rankings for January 2025 published by Ookla show positive numbers about the development of the internet in Vietnam.