~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Fourth GSM network for Vietnam

Vietnam's Military Electronics and Telecommunications (Vietel) says that it has been granted a final license to operate the country's fourth GSM network. The approval was granted earlier this week, and the company expects to be able to launch a commercial service within months. The company has already constructed a trial network in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City, which has been in use since last October.

The Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications (VNPT) had operated a monopoly in the market, with its two networks, Vinaphone and Mobifone until last July, when Saigon Postel launched a network in co-operation with the South Korean consortium, SLD Telecom. VNPT is predicting total subscribers will reach more than seven million by the end of 2005, up from the estimated four million subscribers. Foreign ventures will be permitted from 2006, when investors will be allowed to buy up to 49% of a local telecoms operator.

Cellular-News.com - March 11, 2004.