In Resolution 57 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation, 5G technology is mentioned as an important factor in developing digital infrastructure and promoting national digital transformation.
On October 15, 2024, network operators stopped providing 2G services nationwide (except for some cases serving special purposes in the Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagos and DK platform). On the same day, the 5G network was also officially commercialized in Vietnam.
This milestone marks an important turning point for the telecommunications industry in Vietnam. In addition, the shutdown of 2G and the commercialization of 5G is also a testament to the Government's determination to build a digital service ecosystem to serve digital transformation nationwide, meeting the national strategy on digital economy and digital society.
2G stands for second generation mobile telecommunications technology. 2G networks were commercially deployed based on the GSM standard in Finland by the operator Radiolinja (now part of the telecommunications company Elisa Oyj) in 1991.
In Vietnam, 2G network has been applied since 1993. Adaptation and continuous updating of new technologies have turned Vietnam into one of the most vibrant and strongly developing markets.
Faced with the new context, the problem of turning off 2G waves to optimize frequency planning, optimize network infrastructure and optimize costs is also raised, meeting the requirements of the national digital transformation process, bringing people to the digital environment.
In recent years, 2G networks have been considered "outdated" and full of vulnerabilities by many countries around the world . Cybercriminals can take advantage of this feature to spread spam and fake messages to users' devices via 2G waves with fake BTS stations, causing a lot of damage to users.
In early July 2024, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) issued a document announcing the roadmap for stopping 2G mobile technology in Vietnam. Accordingly, this roadmap will last for a period of 2 years.
To ensure a smooth transition, the Ministry of Science and Technology also requires businesses to implement a program to support the purchase of 4G smartphones or 4G feature phones, and issue packages to support subscribers in the transition.
Thanks to careful preparation, the process of stopping 2G services in Vietnam took place smoothly and had almost no impact on mobile subscribers across the country.
The choice of turning off 2G waves to promote the implementation of the goals in the National Digital Transformation Program to 2025, with a vision to 2030, has been approved by the Prime Minister.
The program aims to popularize 4G/5G mobile networks and smartphones to every Vietnamese citizen. This will be a revolution to quickly promote e-government, digital economy, digital society, etc. and is also an important driving force for Vietnam to develop faster and stronger.
100% of people using smartphones will promote richer digital services, more data services will be used, network operators will have more revenue and new development opportunities.
Mr. Doan Quang Hoan, General Secretary of the Radio Electronics Association, said that when 2G waves are turned off, people will stop using low-quality, low-speed services and move towards using high-quality, high-speed services. This will help bring the whole society to a digital environment soon. Along with that, telecommunications businesses can also remove old technology from the network, reducing operating costs.
The development of 5G has been prepared by network operators for many years. Since 2019, Vietnam has been considered one of the first countries to successfully pilot and apply 5G.
Major carriers such as Viettel, Vinaphone or Mobifone are continuously researching features related to 5G networks and testing coverage in many provinces and cities.
On January 11, 2024, the Prime Minister approved Vietnam's information and communications infrastructure planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050. According to the telecommunications infrastructure planning, Vietnam aims to have a 5G network with a minimum speed of 100Mbps by 2025. By 2030, 5G waves will cover 99% of the population.
In addition to shutting down 2G, October 15, 2024 also marks an important milestone when this is the time when the commercial 5G network is deployed in Vietnam. Accordingly, Viettel has become the first network operator in Vietnam to commercialize 5G to users in 63 provinces and cities.
Regarding the roadmap for 5G coverage in Vietnam, Viettel's representative said that the network is prioritizing deployment in urban areas. By 2025, Viettel will continue to expand indoor coverage. According to the plan for the next 3-5 years, users in urban areas can use 5G indoor networks similar to the current 4G experience.
“In 2025, the 5G network will be expanded to densely populated areas to serve the people. Along with expanding coverage, we are committed to bringing many new services connected on the 5G platform, promoting a more modern and convenient digital life," said a representative of Viettel Telecom.
Besides Viettel, two other major carriers, Vinaphone and MobiFone, also quickly joined this race. In December 2024, VNPT Group officially announced the provision of VinaPhone 5G service.
At the time of official service provision, VinaPhone 5G covers 63 provinces and cities nationwide, focusing on coverage and service provision in key socio-economic areas. VinaPhone 5G also aims to continue to expand coverage in 2025 and soon cover 85% of the population in the near future.
Most recently, at the end of March, MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation also announced a commercial 5G service package. The above event not only marked an important development step for MobiFone network, but was also considered a turning point for the entire Vietnamese telecommunications industry because all three major networks have successfully commercialized 5G.
With the successful commercialization of the 5G network, Vietnam has entered a new era of information and communication. The deployment of the 5G mobile network plays a key role, creating a solid infrastructure foundation to realize digital transformation goals in all areas of life, economy and society.
One of the important goals set in Resolution 57 is to cover 5G nationwide by 2030. This is not only a goal for telecommunications infrastructure, but also demonstrates a strong commitment to creating a superior connectivity environment, meeting the growing demand for bandwidth and data transmission speed in the digital age.
To achieve this goal, the Resolution emphasizes the focus on investment and synchronous development of telecommunications infrastructure, of which 5G is a top priority. State resources play a major role in developing this modern digital infrastructure, while encouraging the participation of domestic and foreign enterprises.
Most recently, Resolution 193 of the National Assembly also mentioned financial support for businesses to quickly deploy 5G. Telecommunications infrastructure is considered an important component of digital infrastructure, the foundational infrastructure for the development of the digital economy and digital society, and is prioritized by the State for development and protection, such as transportation infrastructure and energy infrastructure.
Therefore, digital infrastructure in general and telecommunications infrastructure in particular need to develop quickly and be invested in advance. Resolution 193 allows support for network operators to invest in 5G to quickly cover the whole country.
Normally, each network operator only invests about 5,000 5G stations per year. If each network operator wants to invest up to 20,000 stations per year for fast coverage, it needs support from the State. The support level approved by the National Assembly is 15%, not exceeding the amount of money that the network operators have spent to buy 5G frequencies.
The development of 5G infrastructure promises to have a profound impact on Vietnam's digital economy. With super-fast data transmission speeds, extremely low latency and the ability to connect a large number of devices, 5G will be a solid foundation for the explosion of new digital applications and services, from e-commerce, e-payment to innovative business models based on big data and artificial intelligence.
It is estimated that the scale of Vietnam's digital economy will reach at least 30% of GDP by 2030 and 50% of GDP by 2045. At this time, 5G infrastructure will act as blood vessels, ensuring the smooth flow of data and digital transactions.
It can be said that the development of 5G network is not only a step forward in telecommunications technology, but also a key and decisive factor in promoting the national digital transformation process according to the orientation of Resolution 57.
With superior connectivity, 5G will create a solid infrastructure for the development of the digital economy, opening up new opportunities for the application of advanced technologies such as IoT, AI and Big Data.
Successfully achieving the goal of nationwide 5G coverage by 2030 will be an important step, bringing Vietnam closer to its goal of becoming a powerful and prosperous digital nation in the new era.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/tat-2g-bat-5g-nen-tang-de-viet-nam-vuon-minh-trong-ky-nguyen-so-20250814091459455.htm
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