The Viettel Group, Vietnam’s largest mobile network operator, and Sweden’s Ericsson Group have successfully conducted the first call using 5G technology in the country. The call was a part of Viettel’s 5G technical testing programme to evaluate the technology in Vietnam. During the test, speed with end-use devices reached 1.5 to 1.7 Gbps, surpassing the theoretical speed limit of the 4G LTE network and equal to that of commercial optic cable. Viettel, which is a state-owned enterprise, will continue to have other 5G trials in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. In January 2019, the government granted Viettel the licence to implement 5G experiments for one year. The country aims to bring 5G into commercial operation in 2020 and will be one of the first countries to deploy the network.
