State-owned operator Vietnam signed up Ericsson to build out its 5G RAN across the majority of provinces in Vietnam.
Ericsson said in a statement, it won “award of the majority” Viettel’s 5G deployment and it will upgrade 4G network across the same geographical areas. The project will be begin immediately and conducted across Hanoi, plus north and central provinces.
Viettel is also preparing for continuous spectrum refarming to New Radio (NR) tapping into the 2,600MHz band for both 4G and 5G non-standalone (NSA) with the potential to deploy new services.
Viettel President and CEO Tao Duc Thang said: “This year marks a significant milestone year for Vietnam with the commercial deployment of 5G. 5G will deliver superior user experience and enable new enterprise features that will unleash the capabilities of Industry 4.0 and enable the digital transformation of Vietnam.”
Rita Mokbel, Head of Ericsson Vietnam, added: "5G is the backbone for digitized economies and a driver of inclusive growth. Our partnership with Viettel heralds a new era of technological advancement for Vietnam, with 5G serving as a catalyst for innovation and digital transformation.
“Together, we will explore new frontiers in 5G, including network slicing, enterprise applications, and the expansion of Industry 4.0 use cases. The selection of Ericsson as a strategic partner for 5G deployment by Viettel reaffirms the deep partnership between the two companies for providing a robust, reliable and efficient digital infrastructure in Vietnam.”
Ericsson and Viettel also signed a MoU to promote 5G adoption in Vietnam, vowing to collaborate to develop 5G use cases and create a develop ecosystem in the country. The companies will focus on network slicing, to provide differentiated connectivity, developer enablement via network APIs, and knowledge exchange on emerging technologies.
This deal followed rival Nokia announcing its contract with the state-owned operator.
