After VinaPhone and MobiFone launched their 3G services, the mobile market is about to welcome the second 3G wave from Viettel and EVN Telecom.

Viettel has announced 3G services as of March 25, just one day before it begins distribution of the iPhone in Vietnam – three months earlier than scheduled.

To prepare, Viettel tested 3G services in 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam since late 2009. The firm presently has 7500 3G base transceiver stations (BTS), 1.5 times more than the number of BTS that it committed to have with the Ministry of Information and Communications. Though their 3G services will be officially launched later this week, Viettel already has nearly 1 million 3G subscribers.

EVN Telecom has scrambled to complete to launch 3G services in April 2010, two months before their commitment date. However, this firm will restrict 3G services to big cities like Hanoi, HCM City and Da Nang.

“We are checking the network and facilities for the last time before announcing its launch,” explained an EVN Telecom official.

The new 3G market will be the site of fierce competition among the three telecom giants – VinaPhone, MobiFone and Viettel – besides EVN Telecom. Vietnamobile, which shares its 3G licence with EVN Telecom, has made no move yet.

There are more than 14 million 3G subscribers in Vietnam, including over 7 million with VinaPhone, 6 million for MobiFone, 1 million for Viettel and the remaining for EVN Telecom. However, this figure is based on telecom companies’ numbers and had not been verified yet.

In April 2009, MoIC announced that Viettel, VinaPhone, MobiFone and EVN Telecom-Vietnamobile are the winners in the race for 3G licenses, which cost each firm 8.1 trillion dong.

PV