Hanoi Times – The mobile market is becoming hotter than usual these days as many mobile operators have launched various promotion campaigns to woo more customers in the upcoming Lunar New Year, when demand often surges. Big sums have been spent, as operators are vying in a relentless way to Increase their market shares, and the fight is bringing benefits for consumers.
S-Fone, the pioneer of CDMA in Vietnam, has fired the rocket in the discount race since early this month. The mobile operator estimates at least VND3bil as the cost for the promotion campaign.
Following S-Fone, MobiFone under the umbrella of the Vietnam Post and Communications Group has also set off its campaign this month, while its sister VinaPhone has also launched a promotion campaign for new users.
While MobiFone offers lucky draws and cut telecom charge - the total value of this promotion being VND12bil - to lure more customers, VinaPhone promises big cash values, at VND150,000 for any new subscribers when they get hooked to the system, or a bonus three times the value of a card for pre-paid users. Vinaphone's promotion will last until June this year.
Not to be outsider, Viettel Mobile, which is the leading mobile operator with over 14mil subscribers, has recently announced a special program for people who are living in remote areas.
Viettel this week is giving out two million minutes of communication free of charge for customers by providing them with mobile sim cards. A side from that, Viettel also presents 3,000 gifts to the poor nationwide.
Bui Quang Tuyen, deputy director of Viettel Mobile, says that the Lunar New Year will promise more profits for them. Viettel expects its turnover to increase 10% during the time.
Sources say the number of new subscribers is falling following regulations by the Ministry of Information and Communication to acquire basic personal data from pre-paid subscribers since January 1.
Under the regulation, mobile users are required to declare their personal information, as an effort by the ministry to curb harassment and abuse as via mobile phones.
The new rule is seen as necessary. However, Tuyen of Viettel says the new regulation has had adverse impact on a certain number of mobile users because several of them do not want to declare personal information. Thus, mobile operators have to launch many promotion campaigns to revitalize subscription plans.
Some mobile providers say they have begun to see a positive change following the incentives.
Dinh Viet Hung, director of VinaPhone's Marketing Department, says that after January 1, the number of new mobile subscribers has dropped from 100,000 to 10,000 subscribers a day. However, the number has begun to increase again, and reached 25,000 a day since they launched new promotion campaigns.
Like VinaPhone, Pham Ngoc Tu, deputy director of MobiFone's Marketing Department, also says that the company is seeing around 25,000 new subscribers a day.
Tuyen forecasts that the number of new subscribers will be rocketing in Tet holidays when communication demand of customers will increase strongly. Viettel expects to earn an additional sum of hundreds of billion dong in this festive season.
While mobile operators pin high hopes for good business in the up-coming Lunar New Year, there are grave concerns among industry insiders as well as consumers about network jamming and disruption during the coming days, when the number on the line increases while the telecom infrastructure is inadequate. Such concerns are well-grounded, as the problems have always taken place in the past few years when Tet came.
Mobile operators have also been quick to reassure customers. Le Ngoc Minh of MobiFone says the network will increase its capacity up to four times to prevent such technical problems.
MobiFone reports that it has recently set up 230 base transceiver stations (BTS) in the central region and upgrade its network capacity by up to 20%. It has also erected more mobile BTS stations in densely-populated areas to cope with possible technical glitches during the peak season, which may cause big troubles for its 10mil subscribers.
Meanwhile, VinaPhone reports that its network in the central region is now only 30% utilized, while at its two main operation centers, the capacity is only around 20% exploited. Therefore, there is no reason for worries over jamming, the operator confirms.
VinaPhone has recently set up 300 base transceivers stations (BTS) to reduce overloading at specific locations. VinaPhone says that these BTS are mainly located in populous areas. Furthermore, the mobile service provider has set up four emergency technical teams to quickly respond to overloading situation on the network.
Viettel, the leading mobile operator of the country with over 14mil subscribers, says it is quickly preparing itself for any possible problem caused by overloading. However, Tuyen admits that overloading will be occurring at every mobile network when demands surge at a certain point in time, especially at the advent of the new year.
"Overloading is inevitable when many people use the mobile network at the same time, particular during the New Year Eve. With all efforts, we can only minimize it but not stop it," Tuyen says.
