Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), one of the country's largest telecom providers, is the first one allowed to use the frequency band to test its 5G, the next generation of wireless technology.

The move came after the company was granted a licence by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) to conduct 5G network testing in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, using a total of no more than 100 base transceiver stations.

Accordingly, VNPT is licensed to use a mobile terrestrial band for the testing and evaluation of the technology and the market before officially commercializing the technology.

The trial on such frequency band under the license will be conducted from December 16, 2020 to June 30, 2021 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s two biggest cities.

VNPT is the first enterprise to be officially licensed to use the frequency band to test its 5G in Vietnam. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn

The Department of Radio Frequency under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has required VNPT to ensure network safety and information security when using this frequency band and coordinate with other operators when conducting test in the frequency and applying interference prevention measures.

Earlier, in late November, VNPT successfully tested its VinaPhone 5G network in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The first 5G customers have experienced VinaPhone 5G on handsets made by different manufacturers, with download speed of more than 1 Gbps, more than 10 times the current 4G speed.

Test results show that the VinaPhone 5G network achieves a download throughput of more than 2.2 Gbps, 10 times faster than the 4G network and has a latency of almost zero. These results are close to the world's 5G standards and the best 5G test results ever achieved in Vietnam.

The speed of VinaPhone 5G network has been tested in services requiring high broadband speed, low latency such as virtual reality interaction (AR/VR), Cloud Game (an online game), 8K videos, among others.

Especially, the trial 5G network is integrated into VinaPhone's existing wireless, transmission and core networks. Therefore, VNPT is ready in terms of technology, technology and network structure for deploying commercial 5G network.

5G is expected to play a significant role in giving Internet access to remote areas, contributing to building the foundation for digital transformation in the countryside.

A VNPT representative said that the VinaPhone 5G network will not only provide high-speed data dowload, but also helps create a digital ecosystem to users and e-government platforms, smart cities, among others.

Chairman of the Vietnam Internet Association, Vu Hoang Lien, said that 5G mobile technology holds a predominant advantage to its predecessors in frequency, bandwidth, speed and latency, which guarantees a better user experience.

“5G will pave the way for the Internet of Things, automation and robot science applications,” he said, adding that he is positive about Vietnam’s readiness for 5G in regards of both demand and infrastructure capacity.

5G is the latest generation of mobile Internet connectivity, and should offer much faster download speeds and more reliable connections on smartphones and other devices compared to the current 3G and 4G technologies.