HCMCity (VNA) - The Viettel Military Industryand Telecoms Group (Viettel) announced on September 21 that it hasstarted providing 5G service and put into operation the infrastructure ofInternet of Things (IoT) in Ho Chi Minh City.

Major General Hoang Son, Deputy General Director of Viettel Group saidthat after more than 3 months of making the first test call on the 5G platform,Viettel officially broadcasted 5G network on a trial basis in ward 12 of District 10, HCM City, enabling people todirectly experience 5G technology.

The firm also officially put into use 1,000 broadcasting stations to create acoverage area connecting millions of IoT devices (narrow-band Internet ofThings (NB-IoT)), thussupporting all social activities such as transportation, electricity, water,applications and service.

HCM City has become the first locality in the country to provide 5G service andlarge-scale IoT coverage.

Sonsaid according to the Global System for Mobile Telecommunications Association (GSMA),Viettel is the only representative of Vietnam on the list of the first 50operators in the world to successfully deploy 5G technology. With its plan tocommercialize 5G in 2020, Viettel will make Vietnam one of the leadingcountries in deploying 5G service. 

Addressing the ceremony, Secretary of the municipal People’s Committee NguyenThien Nhan underlined the city’s determination to build a smart city, sayingthat the cooperation with Viettel to build modern ICT infrastructure and coreplatforms for digital society will help the city realize its vision andstrategy, maintaining its leading role in the country in digital transition.

The city has more than 10,000 information technology businesses, Nhan said,adding that 5G applications will create golden opportunities for businesses todevelop services.

Heasked the municipal People's Committee, the Ministry of Information andCommunications, and Viettel Group to gradually expand 5G application, especiallyin areas such as hi-tech parks, and the Quang Trung Software Park, which housemany IT businesses; and universities that need 5G applications.

Currently, HCM City has nearly 9,000 telecom broadcast stations, more than 17million mobile phone subscribers, including over 8 million users of 3G and 4G services.In the first 6 months of 2019, the city's electronics - information technologyindustry grew by over 28 percent, 4 times higher than the industrial sector’sgrowth.

Viettel plans to complete NB-IoT coverage in Hanoi this month, and expand toall localities nationwide in the next two years.-VNA