HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam on Tuesday lauded military-run telecom giant Viettel for doing “what seemed impossible,” by launching its 4G services nationwide in just six months.

Viettel officially launched its 4G services on Tuesday, becoming the first network provider in the world to provide the coverage nationwide right at the outset.

It has 36,000 4G Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) nationwide that can cover 95 per cent of the country’s population, company officials said.

They also said that Viettel would provide a range of 4G packages for different customers, with prices 40 to 60 per cent cheaper than 3G services.

Hoàng Sơn, Viettel deputy general director, said it was normal that mobile phone service providers launch 4G services in urban areas first, and expand to rural areas later.

“However, Viettel wanted to help all people, in urban, rural, remote and mountainous areas, get 4G service as soon as we launched it. We are determined to have every person possess smart phones with high speed internet connection for their work, study and entertainment,” Sơn said.

Furthermore, all its 4G BTSs use 4-transmit-4-receiver (4T4R) technology to allow its coverage to increase 1.4 times and download speeds double in comparison with the 2T2R technology, which is popular in the world.

Statistics compiled by the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) show that by the end of January, there were 581 telecom companies in the world providing 4G services. However, only less than 10 per cent of the total have been using 4T4R, like Vodafone, Orange, T.Mobile, Telefonica, Singtel and China Mobile.

In reality, the average download speed of Viettel’s 4G service is 30 to 50Mbp, which is 7 to 10 times faster than 3G, company officials said.

They said this speed will not just benefit smart phone users, but form a foundation for wide application of IT in several sectors including healthcare, education, agriculture, and tourism.

In particular, it would support e-Government and administrative reforms.

In addition, Viettel would provide smart phones supporting 4G at prices as low as VNĐ1.3 million each and free 4G SIM exchange, the officials said.

“Many people, especially poor people in remote and mountainous areas, are worried that it would be hard for them to access advanced technologies because of high costs.

“However, Viettel will not let any Vietnamese stand outside the development flow of technology,” Sơn said, adding that when the industrial revolution moves forward, no one will be left behind.

In his speech at the launching ceremony, through video conferencing using the 4G service, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam hailed Viettel’s contributions to the country’s socio-economic development, particularly the ICT sector.

He said the launch of 4G services at a scale large enough to cover the whole nation in just six months seemed impossible.

Đam said Việt Nam’s IT sector has been at an average level in comparison with the world, despite strong development in the past few years.

This requires Việt Nam to make great efforts to further develop the IT sector and take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution, he added.

“We are also very pleased that the 4G network uses hardware and software researched and produced by Viettel’s engineers,” he added.

The Deputy PM also expressed high appreciation of the group for providing free information on healthcare, education and agriculture to all people, as well as its active participation in setting up a project on developing digital literacy in the country.

“We must eradicate technology blindness from all people to benefit from fourth revolution. The project to boost digital literacy in the country will create a good environment for all Vietnamese people to enjoy the fruits of progress," he said. — VNS