The Hanoi Times - Vietnamobile, a partnership between Hutchison Telecommunications International and local operator Hanoi Telecom, started its service over its GSM network with footprint present in all 64 provinces in Vietnam o­n Apr. 8.

The newest nationwide GSM, which is officially launched Apr. 9, has a simple tariff structure, aimed at attracting customers interested in value, the operator said at press conference held in Ho Chi Minh City Wednesday.

Sales and marketing director Mark Procter said at the event, “Vietnamobile takes pride to launch the VM o­ne, the country’s o­nly basic tariff with per second billing starting the moment a call is connected.”

“Customers can be rest assured that they pay o­nly for the exact seconds of their calls,” he added. 

The operator said it partners with global network suppliers Ericsson and China’s Huawei.

CEO Simon Perkins said Vietnamobile, with phone number starting with 092, kicked off Apr. 9 a ‘welcome back’ program for “thanking the loyal customers of the company who continued to use 092 service from May 2008 to now.”
 
Hutchison previously operated under the name HT Mobile in Vietnam, using CDMA technology. Services were suspended at that time to prepare for the switch to GSM, which is expected to help improve business performance.

“By switching to providing GSM service, we are now in a more competitive position… We would like to thank our previous customers, particular those who were there with us from the first days,” said Hanoi Telecom chairman Pham Ngoc Lang.

The operator said to ensure smooth registration for this program, the first phase of the ‘welcome back’ program is first offered to customers in big cities, and will roll out to the rest of the country later.

During the transitional period, about 200,000 customers of HT Mobile kept their existing CDMA service but roamed o­nto the CDMA network operated by S-Fone.

Vietnamobile deputy CEO Nguyen Xuan Quan told Sai Gon Giai Phong that his network currently has 1,300 base transceiver stations across the country, and the number would increase to 5,000 by this September.

The Vietnamese market is currently dominated by GSM players Viettel, MobiFone and VinaPhone, with smaller CDMA-based offerings from S-Fone and EVN Telecom.

Quan said he believes that his network can compete due to its low charges, high quality calls, good customer services, and an expanding distribution network.   

It was estimated that at the end of 2008, Vietnam had over 67 million phone subscribers, of which 61.3 million were connected to Viettel, MobiFone and VinaPhone. The rest were o­n the two CDMA networks, with 4.8 million o­n S-Fone and 1.1 million for EVN Telecom.

The nation's current population is about 84 million.