Viettel, Ericsson sign deal to boost GSM network
HA NOI — Ericsson, the world’s leading mobile systems supplier, signed an agreement yesterday with Viettel, Viet Nam’s third-largest mobile phone company, to expand Viettel’s Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) network.
The Swedish firm said that under the agreement it will provide Viettel, which is run by the Vietnamese military, with core and radio network access equipment, service layer platforms, network rollout and support services.
Information about the agreement’s value and timeframe for implementation was not revealed by Ericsson.
Viettel’s officials were not available for interview yesterday.
Since its launch last October, Viettel has gained 500,000 subscribers, and it aims to triple this figure by the end of the year.
Last month, the company announced that it had been given the green light by the Government to adopt a corporate business model, allowing it to develop more quickly and expand its business scope.
The company succeeded in breaking the Viet Nam Post and Telecommunication Corporation (VNPT)’s monopoly in the provision of international telecom services last year, when it inaugurated its satellite-fed international telecom gate in the northern province of Ha Tay.
Viet Nam News, May 20, 2005
