HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam is on track to turn off 2G mobile signals and develop the 5G network, said Nguyễn Phong Nhã, Deputy Director of the Việt Nam Telecommunications Authority under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Speaking at the ministry’s regular press briefing on May 13, Nhã said that the ministry officially licenced the deployment of 5G service on April 11, 2024. Two telecommunication service providers -- Viettel and VNPT -- have got business licences and permissions to use the 5G band.

To officially provide the service nationwide, the service providers must invest in 5G telecommunications network infrastructure.

They have recently tested 5G on a large scale in provinces and cities across the country. They are carrying out bidding procedures and investing in equipment to deploy commercial 5G service, Nha said.

He noted that the two service providers committed to deploying a telecommunications network and providing the service no later than one year after receiving the licences and investing in 3,000 stations in two years after being licenced.

As planned, the 5G service will be launched first in urban areas of districts in provinces and cities, then expanded to the remaining areas.

In addition, the 5G service will target industrial parks and smart factories depending on the market demand for 5G's special features such as low latency and high density.

Meanwhile, actions have been taken to speed up the turning off of 2G service, Nhã said.

Ministries, agencies and telecommunication service providers have been stepping up communications to call on 2G subscribers to switch to using mobile phones with higher technology.

Localities are suggested to mobilise social resources and local budgets to support people to access smartphones, especially those from poor and near-poor households.

According to reports of telecommunication service providers, the number of 2G subscribers can be reduced to 0 or about 5 per cent of the total number of mobile subscribers on the market by September this year, Nhã said.

As of September 2023, Việt Nam had 15 million 2G subscribers. In March this year, the telecommunications authority asked network operators to stop subscriptions of new 2G‑only phones. — VNS