Vietnam’s Viettel Group expects to launch mobile operations in Tanzania in October 2015 under the brand name Halotel, VietnamNet reports, citing Tao Duc Thang, director general of the telco’s international arm, Viettel Global. Halotel is in the ‘final phase of infrastructure construction’, and the new market entrant intends to offer both 2G and 3G connectivity from launch. Going forward, Viettel intends to deploy mobile networks in all 26 Tanzanian provinces.

The operator will offer voice, data and value-added services from launch (Source: forevercash.com)

As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, in October 2014 Viettel was granted a licence to build and operate a 3G mobile network in Tanzania, with chairman Manh Nguyen said to have made a pledge to invest USD1 billion in ‘telecoms and other services’.

In related news, the article quotes Thang as saying that Viettel Global is now conducting market research in a number of other African countries, including Burkina Faso, Kenya, Swaziland, Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Madagascar, with a view to expanding its African footprint even further.

Telegeography.com