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

[Year 1997]
[Year 1998]
[Year 1999]
[Year 2000]
[Year 2001]
[Year 2002]

Vietnam's telecoms body draws up 3G mobile roadmap

HANOI - Vietnam's Department General of Posts and Telecommunications [GDPT] is outlining a legal framework and road map for the use of third generation [3G] mobile phones in Vietnam, according to GDPT deputy director Le Nam Thang. He told a seminar last week, which briefed participants on the latest trends in 3G CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology, that the GDPT was also considering an auction of the frequency bands for 3G to service providers.

"3G is the ability to leapfrog the digital device, providing users with the high-speed data transmission and internet access," said Marshall Towe, Southeast Asia vice president of US telco Qualcomm. He said 3G technology would support e-government and e-commerce, and also accelerate the development of the telecommunications sector. Vietnam is expected to launch CDMA mobile phone services by the end of the year. Currently, the country boasts around 1.4 million GSM-based cell phone users.

The seminar also introduced CDMA 2000 1x technology, and Qualcomm's "binary runtime environment for wireless" [BREW] software, which is a "thin application execution environment" that provides an open, standard platform for wireless devices.

Vietnam News Agency - May 28, 2002