Contracts signed to expand 3G network. —VNS Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Vietnamobile has received licences to become a joint stock company and provide 2G and 3G telecom services from the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Deputy Minister of Ministry of Communications Phan Tam said: "This is an important step which marks a new development phase of Vietnamobile Telecommunications Joint Stock Company.

"For the last 10 years Vietnamobile has been constantly striving to overcome many challenges, from those new entrants commonly face in the telecom market to others related to deploying CDMA technology in a market accustomed to GSM technology."

It is the only network with foreign investment operating in Viet Nam, he said.

Previously the company operated under a business cooperation contract between Hanoi Telecom and Hong Kong's Hutchison Asia Telecom Group.

Vietnamobile also signed contracts on Wednesday with Ericsson and ZTE to expand its 3G network to cover around 90 per cent of the population by the end of next year. — VNS