The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) was finalising the 4G licensing policy, Deputy Minister Phan Tâm said at an international workshop on spectrum management for mobile broadband.

He said the country's mobile businesses were also preparing to report the 4G testing result.

The Authority of Radio Frequency Management under the Ministry of Information and Communications organised the workshop in Ha Noi on Wednesday.

Đoan Quang Hoan, director of the authority, said the workshop was held with the purpose of updating the newest information on mobile broadband technology and development trend of the technology, which would help providers and enterprises effectively exploit frequency spectrum for the successful implementation of mobile broadband.

Frequency management for mobile broadband and technology for mobile in the future is a hot issue in Viet Nam, as 4G technology gets licensed this year.

The deputy minister also emphasised that the ministry always saw the learning of international experience as important in building policy for Internet development, telecommunication and radio frequency.

Accordingly, international experience would help the country implement the 4G technology faster and more effectively, he added.

According to the Authority of Radio Frequency Management, domestic businesses had started to pilot 4G technology on the 1,800 MHz bandwidth since the end of last year.

Of these, Viettel implemented the technology inHa Noi, Đa Nang and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, while VNPT's VinaPhone piloted the technology in HCM City and Kien Giang.

Tam said the MIC attached importance to the development of next-generation mobile broadband towards modern telecommunication infrastructure, as the basis for a digital economy, which contributed to improving national competitiveness.

One of the goals of the government's telecommunication broadband infrastructure programme by 2020 is to ensure 3G/4G covers 95 per cent of the population, with good quality and at reasonable rates.

At the seminar, the authority also shared information about the national orientation for frequency in the near future.

The 700 MHz bandwidth, which is being used for analog television, will be freed to serve the development of mobile broadband.

Accordingly, Viet Nam will switch off analog signals in the four cities of Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Can Tho and HCM City and 19 neighbouring provinces by August 15.

Viettel provides 4G roaming service

The military-run telecommunication group Viettel has provided the latest roaming LTE (4G) technology service to its subscribers this month.

Viettel said its customers can use the new technology, with speed 10 times faster than the earlier speed, while paying the prevailing tariff for the service.

In the pilot period, the group will contact subscribers who frequently travel abroad to South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, the United States and Russia and use data roaming services.

Viettel will enable customers to change their SIM cards at a cost of only VND25,000 per card at its shops nationwide.

Viettel's 4G roaming service is expected to cover most countries. Subscribers can also use the Viettel app to check their detailed roaming tariff for the last three months to control spending on the service.

VNS