Shortage of 4G "feature phones" as 2G networks shut down.

According to Mr. Tran Duc Tin, Director of the Mobile Telecommunications Division at The Gioi Dien Dong Joint Stock Company, currently, when people are upgrading from 2G "brick" phones to 4G, 90-95% still choose keypad phones. This has led to a severe shortage of products in this segment at domestic retail systems to meet demand.

Currently, sales of keypad phones at The Gioi Dien Dong (Mobile World) have increased 10-15 times, with monthly sales ranging from 300,000 to 400,000 units. Although the company has increased its inventory, mobile phone manufacturers are still unable to supply enough. According to Mr. Tran Duc Tin, the reason is that manufacturers were completely unprepared for the 2G network shutdown, and therefore did not take strong action, mainly waiting to see how the market reacted.

Meanwhile, Mr. Huy Nguyen, a representative of CellphoneS, also shared that most of the feature phones on their system are priced under 1.5 million VND. In recent days, sales of feature phones at CellphoneS have increased 4-5 times compared to before. However, according to Mr. Huy Nguyen, there is currently a localized shortage of feature phones, and the number of units available at this retail system is only enough to meet customer demand for the next 2-3 weeks of sales.

Mr. Nguyen The Kha, Commercial Director ofFPT Shop system, also informed that although the current range of 4G keypad phones under 1 million VND on the system is very diverse from many brands, the number in stock only meets slightly more than half of the demand for upgrading from 2G phones that have lost signal.

Encourage people to switch to 4G smartphones.

One of the solutions proposed by the Ministry of Information and Communications to support subscribers transitioning from 2G to 4G is to encourage people to switch to smartphones instead of traditional keypad phones. Switching to smartphones offers users the opportunity to experience new services. Users can access the internet and use government administrative services through smartphone applications instead of websites. This is an opportunity for people to access digital services, gradually forming a digital society, with the goal of facilitating access to new technologies for users.

To achieve this, mobile phone manufacturers have recently introduced a segment of affordable smartphones priced under 5 million VND for consumers to choose from.

For example, Oppo has prepared smartphone models priced under 5 million VND, focusing on user needs such as beautiful design, large battery, fast charging, and high durability. According to Mr. Vu Thanh Trung, Product Director of Oppo Vietnam, this is considered the golden segment, and Oppo has launched many smartphone models with various configurations and designs priced between 2 and 4 million VND. This makes it easier for users to spend on a new phone. For users who are used to feature phones, they can also switch to smartphones more quickly.

According to Mr. Le Hong Phong, Sales Director of Honor Vietnam, to meet customer demand for upgrading from 2G to 4G phones in the near future, the company plans to launch smartphone models in the 2-4 million VND price range. This August, the company will launch the Honor X6b smartphone. This product boasts many outstanding features, high durability, and a very attractive price.

Representatives from Xiaomi and vivo Vietnam also shared that the companies will continue to focus on the entry-level and mid-range 4G smartphone segments to meet the upgrade needs of Vietnamese users when 2G networks are switched off.