Vietnam to begin 5G trials in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

Viettel has become the first mobile carrier in Vietnam licensed to test the next-generation of wireless technology, known as 5G, in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam to begin 5G trials in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

The license is valid for one year until January 21, 2020, during which the carrier will evaluate technical functions and infrastructure deployment capability.

Experimental 5G will be run in no more than 73 locations and users will not be charged during the trial period.

Ho Chi Minh City is where the testing will first take place before the technology is expected to be commercialised by 2020, making Vietnam one of the earliest adopters of the latest cellular standard.

At a conference in November 2018, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung affirmed that Vietnam will be one of the first countries in the world to roll out 5G.

5G is the latest generation of mobile communications technology, promising to offer data speeds of up to 100 times faster than the current 4G networks.