Over 20 years ago, in Vietnam, a minute of a phone call could "cost you two bowls of pho" and only 4% of the population used mobile phones. It's hard to imagine that this S-shaped country would become one of the few nations to master and export 5G technology and have a telecommunications brand ranked second globally.
“The prestige of Viettel and the Vietnamese people is rising. International friends understand us more, understanding Vietnamese people, Vietnamese culture, and Vietnamese values. Especially for Viettel, a state-owned enterprise and uniquely a military business, a heroic people’s army, heroic in combat and now heroic in economic activities” said General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong during a visit to a Viettel market in 2017.
Viettel has not only created a telecommunications boom in Vietnam but has also brought mobile waves and digital services to people in many countries, even under unstable and difficult circumstances. Viettel has succeeded in markets where even the largest telecommunications companies have had to withdraw. In 7 out of 10 investment markets, Viettel ranks first. This is no longer just "luck" as luck does not come many times. The miraculous achievements Viettel has made in foreign markets are evidence of strategy, determination, and creativity across generations.
“The strategy of Viettel is to be in the top 10 largest telecommunications operators in the world. If we invest abroad, the Vietnamese market alone is not enough; Viettel cannot be in the top 10 largest telecommunications operators in the world” Lieutenant General Hoang Anh Xuan, said Former General Director of Viettel Group.
At the end of 2006, Viettel officially "set foot" in the Cambodian market, becoming the first telecommunications enterprise to invest directly abroad. At that time, the domestic market was still vast and was an attractive investment pie for international investors. Viettel still had 5,000 overdue base stations to manage. Meanwhile, the technical team was high quality, but the telecommunications business experience was still in the learning phase. Numerous obstacles highlighted the risk of the decision to venture into the open sea. But Viettel’s determination was unyielding.
“Cambodia was also highly competitive at that time. When we went to Cambodia, they did not offer any special incentives to any enterprises. We were a foreign investor among 7-8 enterprises” Major General Hoang Son, Former Secretary of the Party Committee, Deputy General Director of Viettel Group recalled on why Cambodia was chosen as Viettel’s first market.
Cambodia is a country with a large area and sparse population, making it challenging to develop infrastructure in remote areas, not just in telecommunications but also in other fields like electricity and water. In adversity lies opportunity. Realizing that most telecom operators in Cambodia lacked their own infrastructure, Viettel was determined to build and own its telecommunications infrastructure.
Overcoming unprecedented challenges to transport the first 10 experimental stations from Vietnam, Viettel tirelessly and rapidly built thousands of stations, combining domestic combat experience with flexible adaptation to the local environment.
As a result, on the day of its official launch, more than a year later, on February 9, 2009, Metfone - Viettel’s international brand in Cambodia - immediately became the largest telecommunications infrastructure provider. Two years later, Metfone rose from the 8th position to the 1st with 46% mobile market share and 60% fixed broadband market share.
Bakneom, an agricultural village an hour from Oddar Meanchey, a border province between Cambodia and Thailand, faced difficulties connecting to the national power grid or water supply network due to its sparse population of about 300,000 people over 6,000 km². Yet, Bakneom had mobile phone coverage!
“Besides Metfone, no other network thought of covering this area or remote areas in the province” said the director of Metfone's Oddar Meanchey branch (Viettel’s brand in Cambodia).
Unlike other international competitors, Metfone was willing to "give first", bringing telecommunications waves to the most remote areas. “Metfone has expanded coverage to remote areas, even where they knew there would be no profit. This makes us feel warm, especially for military units in border areas and remote regions” said General Samdech Pichey Sena Tea Banh, former Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense of Cambodia.
Among the countries where Viettel quickly became the number one telecommunications market leader, Burundi (Africa) set a record, achieving this feat in just six months. In this country, Viettel prioritized the strategy of democratizing mobile services by bringing telecommunications to every corner and to the people. However, Lumitel (Viettel’s brand in Burundi) made a significant leap due to a political crisis in the country.
In May 2015, when political turmoil erupted, other networks ceased operations, and foreign personnel left Burundi, disrupting communications. Meanwhile, Viettel’s staff managed the situation and maintained mobile network operations: customers flocked to Lumitel, propelling the network to the number one position in an extremely short time.
However, what made Viettel stand out in Burundi was not just democratizing telecommunications and rapidly gaining market share. It was their involvement in numerous social activities, supporting the underprivileged in Burundi, such as using Lumicash e-wallet to provide financial aid to hundreds of thousands of repatriated refugees.
Lumitel used its network and personnel to support the UN in humanitarian financial transactions for over 168,000 refugees, transferring more than 21 million USD safely to the right people. “Without Lumitel and Lumicash’s operations, refugee assistance would have faced countless difficulties” said Brigitte Mukanga Eno, Head of the UN High Commissioner’s Office in Burundi.
Besides growth and telecommunications outreach in developing countries, Viettel created a miracle in a country with a much higher development level and GDP than Vietnam: Peru. Viettel won a telecommunications license by committing to provide free internet to over 4,000 schools, something no other telecommunications company was willing to do. When it launched in 2014, Bitel (Viettel’s brand in Peru) was the only mobile network with nationwide 3G coverage.
Even in a country like Peru, Viettel continued its mission: serving people in harsh regions. This included Cerro de Pasco, a city at an altitude of 4,380 meters, one of the highest cities in the world, perpetually covered in snow. The first and almost only feeling for most visitors to Pasco is “I can’t breathe”. It was one of the poorest and most challenging areas in Peru, and residents had never used phones or the internet. Yet, Bitel’s presence changed everything.
In February 2021, despite the complex developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bitel completed the installation of the last four base stations in the Amazon basin, bringing mobile and internet coverage to the most remote areas. This was part of a project to install the deepest and furthest base stations in the Amazon basin in Peru. Traversing forests and crossing the Amazon to lay fiber optic cables and provide mobile coverage in areas without electricity was unimaginable for all other networks in Peru - except Bitel.
“Giving first, receiving later” is Viettel’s guiding principle for building a sustainable investment strategy, balancing the interests of the enterprise with the interests of the government and local people. This helps Viettel’s brands abroad receive high appreciation and is a key factor in many subsidiaries quickly becoming market leaders.
Aggressive with competitors and humane in customer approach strategies, after 15 years since the first foreign market launch, Viettel has become a professional international investor, ranking first in 7 out of 10 international markets.
Revenue from foreign investment activities exceeds 3 billion USD, maintaining high growth rates for seven consecutive years, five times the global industry average, and bringing annual foreign currency revenue to Vietnam of up to 500 million USD.
These impressive business figures reflect not only the economic efficiency but also the aspiration and consistent philosophy throughout Viettel’s international investment: Affirming Vietnamese technological capabilities.
In March 2024, Viettel surprised at the world’s largest mobile technology event, MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Spain, by introducing its 5G device ecosystem. The Vietnamese technology group showcased its ecosystem of 5G radio network equipment according to Open-RAN standards, 5G core network, and 5G chips fully controlled by Viettel.
Commenting on this event, Mr. Dan Rodriguez, Corporate Vice President & GM Network and Edge Solutions Group at Intel, said: “Viettel has achieved remarkable achievements, truly groundbreaking technologies in both Open-RAN and 5G SA cores”. Previously, few could believe that a Vietnamese network operator, originating from a construction company, could successfully produce 5G equipment, even making 5G chips. This is an achievement only a few of the world’s largest technology groups have accomplished, and no other telecommunications operator has succeeded in producing 5G equipment.
Before showcasing its 5G standalone broadcast network at MWC, Viettel tested 300 operational 5G stations in Vietnam (Hanoi, Ha Nam, Da Nang, Ninh Thuan). The results showed that Viettel-made 5G equipment met all technical standards worldwide and in Vietnam. Moreover, in December 2023, Viettel’s complete 5G Private system was exported to India, a technologically advanced and the most populous country in the world.
Besides successfully researching and producing hardware devices, mastering the real-time billing system (OCS), the “heart of the network operator” is another miracle of Viettel. Before 5G equipment, this was an achievement that only the world’s largest telecommunications groups could claim. Viettel has succeeded in converting the OCS system in Vietnam and its international markets.
This corporation not only successfully researched and developed vOCS 3.0 but also became one of the top 3 OCS manufacturers globally in terms of capacity and features. Notably, vOCS has achieved something no other real-time billing system in the world has done: designing a unique package for each customer.
"The development path of Viettel has evolved from outsourcing to investing in telecommunications services, advancing to high-tech industries, and the next step is to delve into technology, participating in all stages of the semiconductor industry and becoming a pioneering enterprise in Vietnam’s electronics industry. If a nation lacks an electronics industry, it cannot develop, and Viettel’s mission is to be a key enterprise, significantly contributing to Vietnam's journey to becoming a developed country" said Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Information and Communications, who held various leadership positions at Viettel from its early days.
Network equipment and 5G chips are just the beginning. Viettel aims to become a highly skilled chip design company in Asia by 2030 and to play a crucial role in developing Vietnam's semiconductor industry.
"Viettel remains steadfast in its noble aspirations passed down through generations: always innovating for people, continuously expanding technology to ensure no one is left behind, pioneering and leading in creating a digital society, and synergizing to create shared value" said Major General Tao Duc Thang, Chairman and General Director of Viettel. The spirit of self-reliance and the willingness to take on the toughest challenges have helped Viettel establish many milestones in the past and will continue to be the foundation for future achievements and new milestones.
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