Representatives from Viettel and Ericsson at the launch ceremony of Viettel Telecom's 5G network in Hà Nội on Tuesday. — Photo courtesy of Viettel

Viettel has strengthened its long-term partnership with Ericsson through the award of the majority of its nationwide 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) deployment.

Starting immediately, Ericsson 5G products and services will be deployed across a majority of provinces in Việt Nam.

Ericsson’s 5G deployment will include the capital Hà Nội and the north and central parts of Việt Nam, when complete. The extended partnership will also see Ericsson modernise its 4G network for Viettel across the same geographical areas.

The contract underscores the robust, trusted and collaborative relationship between Ericsson and Viettel, aimed at creating a strong digital infrastructure in Việt Nam and providing superior connectivity with 5G.

Ericsson’s advanced technology Radio System portfolio will enhance Viettel’s network capabilities, enabling a faster, more reliable 5G rollout and high-speed connectivity for customers across Việt Nam.

Viettel is also preparing for continuous spectrum refarming to New Radio (NR), using the 2600 MHz spectrum for both 4G and 5G non-standalone (NSA) - positioning itself for future 5G Standalone (5G SA) deployment with the potential to introduce new services.

President and CEO of Viettel, Tào Đức Thắng, said:” This year marks a significant milestone year for Việt Nam with the commercial deployment of 5G. 5G will deliver superior user experience and enable new enterprise features that will unleash the capabilities of Industry 4.0 and enable the digital transformation of Việt Nam.”

President of Ericsson Vietnam, Rita Mokbel, said: "5G is the backbone for digitised economies and a driver of inclusive growth. Our partnership with Viettel marks a new era of technological advancement for Việt Nam, with 5G serving as a catalyst for innovation and digital transformation.

"Together, we will explore new frontiers in 5G, including network slicing, enterprise applications, and the expansion of Industry 4.0 use cases. The selection of Ericsson as a strategic partner for 5G deployment by Viettel reaffirms the deep partnership between the two companies for providing a robust, reliable and efficient digital infrastructure in Việt Nam.”

Ericsson and Viettel have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote 5G adoption in Việt Nam. The companies will collaborate towards developing innovative 5G use, as well as creating a robust developer ecosystem in Việt Nam to build secure, reliable and innovative applications powered by 5G.

Ericsson and Viettel will focus on key areas such as splicing the 5G network to provide differentiated connectivity, developer enablement via network APIs and knowledge exchange within emerging technologies. —VNS