Vietnam's army to launch Vietel

Vietnam's army to launch Vietel

HANOI: A telecommunications company run by Vietnam's army is expected to launch a mobile phone service this year, making it the fourth operator in the country, a company executive said on Friday.

The Army Electronic and Telecommunications Company, or Vietel, obtained government approval and plans to commence its phone service by the end of the third quarter, said company deputy director Duong Van Tinh.

Vietel has been running the service on an experimental basis among its staff in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and the central city of Danang for the past month. It is eventually expected to expand to all 64 provinces, he said.

Vietnam currently has three mobile phone operators - Vina Phone, Mobiphone and Sphone - with about 3 million subscribers combined. Last year, 1 million new users were added in a market that has experienced an increase of 30 percent to 50 percent in recent years, according to government figures.

Vietel will be using GSM technology from Ericsson and Alcatel, he said. -- AP