Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngọc Anh (left) and Minister of Information and Communications Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng (right) make a call on January 17 with a Viettel-made 5G device. — Photo courtesy of Viettel

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s telecom firm Viettel announced it is the 6th company in the world to manufacture 5G devices.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng and Minister of Science and Technology (MoST) Chu Ngọc Anh made the first video call with Viettel's  gNodeB transceiver in Hà Nội on Friday.

The gNodeB transceiver made by Viettel includes both software and hardware. The device was developed in six months, starting in June 2019.

Last April the carrier used a foreign-made device to make a call via the 5G network. Now, after 8 months, Viettel has helped Việt Nam master 5G technology.

According to Viettel, it is now the sixth provider of 5G devices globally. Others include Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, Samsung and ZTE.

As the Government of Việt Nam sets a goal to go digital, Viettel general director Lê Đăng Dũng said: “The 5G network will determine the success of the digital economy,” adding that: “Many countries are using 5G services to strengthen their science-technology position on the global market and develop their economies.”

Dũng said: "It’s why Viettel considers 5G to be the most strategic project of the group.”

Attending the event, MoST minister Anh said the move “is a very rare opportunity, creating a R&D platform for Việt Nam to develop further.”

Viettel said it will start commercialising the devices by June this year and produce the devices on a large scale a year later.

Viettel expected to build civil and military products on the ‘5G technology ecosystem’ developed and manufactured in Việt Nam. Currently, Viettel has more than 110 million customers in eleven countries. — VNS