Ten years ago, owning a smartphone was a luxury. The cheapest models available in Vietnam were priced at around VND 2 million, nearly twice the average monthly minimum wage of Vietnamese people (VND 1.15 million). Apart from one spent on purchasing a smartphone, users also needed access to mobile internet for it to function beyond calls and texts. At that time, high-speed internet was not widely available, particularly in rural and remote areas, making it difficult for many to go online, even if they could afford the device. According to We Are Social and Hootsuite, a global social media analytics firm, nearly 80 percent of Vietnamese people viewed smartphones as a luxury item, far out of reach.
Today, smartphones have become accessible to nearly everyone, and Viettel is leading this transformation process.
A desire for bringing digital access to everyone
In 2014, Viettel set an ambitious goal: making smartphones available to every Vietnamese citizen. Their mission was to create a revolution where everyone, from urban dwellers to those living in rural, remote, and even island regions, could affordably access the internet and enjoy the benefits of the digital world. Smartphones are more than just devices. They are gateways to vast online resources, entertainment, educational tools, healthcare services, and an enormous pool of human knowledge.
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Viettel has expanded 4G coverage nationwide and now aims to bring 5G to everyone. |
Achieving this vision was no easy task. Smartphones and the accompanying data plans needed to be affordable for the masses. Mobile internet infrastructure also needed to reach every corner of the country. Crucially, people needed to see how smartphones could solve their problems, encouraging them to adopt this technology.
From this broad challenge, Viettel worked through countless smaller initiatives over the past decade, persistently driving toward the goal of bringing smartphones to every citizen and propelling national digital transformation.
A decade of tireless action
Three years after announcing this vision, Viettel officially launched its 4G network. Within just six months of intensive rollout, Viettel’s 4G coverage spanned every province and city across the country, reaching 704 districts, covering almost 99% of Vietnam’s districts. With this extensive 4G network, which covered 95% of Vietnam’s population, Viettel became the first telecommunications provider in the world to achieve nationwide 4G network coverage from the moment it launched.
At that time, Viettel’s 4G network was a game-changer, solving the issue of slow internet speed associated with 3G. The cost was also competitive. Users could enjoy a month of 4G access for just VND 40,000. For a little more, customers had a wide range of data plans to choose from.
In 2020, Viettel introduced an Open Networks quality map to ensure transparent coverage information, a move rooted in their customer-centric approach to digital transformation. This allowed users to see real-time 4G coverage across the country, enabling them to better plan their activities and journeys, according to Viettel's Deputy General Director Dao Xuan Vu.
Since 2017, as internet coverage expanded, Viettel also began distributing smartphones from reputable global manufacturers at prices affordable to Vietnamese consumers. They implemented creative financing solutions such as installment plans, promotions for upgrading from basic phones to smartphones, and device subsidies.
In 2020, Viettel, in collaboration with a Vietnamese manufacturer, introduced a smartphone priced at just VND 600,000, comparable to the cost of cheap phones that only offered calling and texting. This price point was designed to meet the financial capabilities of low-income individuals, making smartphones accessible to customers nationwide.
To boost smartphone usage in daily life, whether for entertainment, electronic payments, education, healthcare, e-commerce, or public services, Viettel continued launching "Made by Viettel" and "Make in Vietnam" digital applications. Viettel Money, which debuted in 2018, allowed people across the country to perform basic transactions and payments, even without a bank account, using any type of mobile phone.
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For many Vietnamese, using a smartphone for the first time marks a significant change in their lives. |
Viettel’s focus shifted from providing telecom services to becoming a leading digital service provider. Their role as a key partner in developing digital solutions for healthcare, education, and public services connected users with these digital applications.
Changing lives
Smartphones have transformed many lives in remarkable ways. For example, So Y Tiet, once a simple cowherd becoming well known for a viral video in which he sang an English counting song while tending his cows, has since bought land and built a house. With a global fanbase, So Y Tiet began using English for his TikTok and Instagram posts, relying on Google Translate for communication despite having dropped out of school early.
Meanwhile, Thach Ren, a farmer from Tra Vinh province facing water shortages and increased salinity, used a smartphone app to monitor water levels in his rice fields. Instead of checking water levels manually, Ren could now track them remotely, reducing the number of times he needed to irrigate his crops, which led to significant water saving.
According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, over 84 percent of Vietnam’s population now uses smartphones, placing the country in the top 10 countries with the highest number of smartphone users in the world, as reported by Statista. Viettel has played a significant role in achieving this impressive milestone.
Viettel’s quest to make smartphones widely accessible showcases their dedication to ensuring that technology reaches everyone, leaving no one behind.
Translated by Trung Thanh