Vietnam's fast-growing mobile telephony market has moved
a stage closer to deploying 3G technology after awarding a large
contract to China's ZTE for a CDMA 2000 1X network.
Vietnam Power Telecom, part of the country's electricity
supplier Electricity Vietnam, has contracted for a network to cover
the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City and 12 provinces in the
nearby Mekong Delta area covering about 20% of the country's land
area. The amount of the contract was not revealed.
The network will compete against two established GSM networks
operated by Vinaphone, a division of the former monopoly carrier
Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications and Mobifone, a 50:50 joint
venture between VNPT and Sweden's Comvik International Vietnam.
There are currently about three million mobile phone users in the
country, according to government figures.
CDMA 2001X offers a maximum data transmission speed of 144kbps.
From CDMA2000-1X, there is a clear migration path to 3G technology
like CDMA2001x-EV-DO, which offers higher data of 2.3mbps and
CDMA2000 1X-EV-DV, which can offer 3.6mbps speed.
ZTE has become China's largest exporter of mobile telephony
systems, with a focus on bringing high-speed services to developing
markets. Earlier this month, ZTE announced the completion of the
first 3G network in Tunisia and has also recently signed
significant CDMA deals in Uzbekistan, Egypt, Russia, Mongolia and
Indonesia.
David Legard writes for IDG News Service