Viettel is the first to provide 4G services in Ha Giang province. Along the winding road from Ha Giang city to the Lung Cu flag pole, the mission members always checked the quality of the 4G network coverage and found that the signal was strong all the way.

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 Testing Viettel 4G connection speed

The Lung Cu flag pole was built on top of the Rong (Dragon) mountain, at  1,700m above sea level, about 24km from Dong Van townlet and 154km from Ha Giang province. The test of 4G services provided by Viettel at the Lung Cu flag pole brought the results as follows: download speed at 80-105Mbps; upload speed at 40-50Mbps, which are high as the locality is home to high mountains and hills, difficult for data transfer.

According to Colonel Lai Nhu Hoa, Director of Viettel Ha Giang, there are now more than 400,000 Viettel subscribers in Ha Giang province, of whom one third are using 3G services. As planned, there will be 367 4G BTS installed in the area of 8,000sq.km of Ha Giang province, a little more than the number of 2G BTS (350) and 3G BTS (355). He said, “We have set the target for Ha Giang to have about more than 140,000 4G subscribers by the end of 2017, an increase of 12% compared to the current number of 3G subscribers. Viettel will work with local authorities to sell 4G devices at reasonable prices to encourage people using 4G services and support local authorities in applying information technology to their management activities.”

Major Hoang Ngoc Tuan, Deputy Chief of Lung Cu Border Station, shared that previously there was no mobile network coverage there; therefore, communications were  hard. Since 2004, after the Viettel mobile network kicked in, it has been more convenient for troops and locals of the province to communicate via cellphones. The 4G coverage in Lung Cu and other communes and districts of Ha Giang province has improved the spiritual life of local troops and people.

According to Colonel Tao Duc Thang, Viettel group’s Deputy Director General, when inaugurated, Viettel’s 4G services will cover 100% of all districts in the whole country with its 36,000 4G BTS, which measn 4G services will be available everywhere in Vietnam.

With the large coverage of 4G services, Viettel has set the target to ensure all Vietnamese have equal access to the Internet. Colonel Thang stressed that, “Viettel’s 4G services are available in 100% of districts nationwide means that more patients in remote and mountainous areas can be operated on under instructions from central-level hospitals; more students in remote and mountainous areas can enjoy education like those in urban areas; more administrative procedure reform can be made, helping bring authorities closer to citizens. The 4G infrastructure will also serve as the platform for various services and products that were unavailable on previous platforms...”

Under the motto “no one left behind”, 4G services are now available in Sa Phin of the Dong Van Karst Plateau. At Sa Phin fair, there is a place where people can exchange their SIM (subscriber identification module) cards for 4G ones.

Vuong Mi Cha, a Hmong minority, often comes to Sa Phin fair to sell goods. Then one day he decided to shift to using Viettel 4G services as he had heard of the high speed of the services before. He could also access more information with the 4G services via 4G devices. After using the service for some time, through the information online, he found that he could bring more goods to his locals while he could sell more goods to others at the fair. Now he even sells pigs and other products online and also receive goods he needs by contacting sellers and ordered them to send him via buses and coaches to his locality.

He said, “I don’t know much about technological advancement, but now a smartphone can help me and locals narrow the gap between rural and urban areas, between the rich and the poor. A smartphone is not only for making calls and texting, but also for connecting to the whole world of information.”

Right in this remote and mountainous district of Dong Van, there are now more than 1,800 4G subscribers; in Meo Vac district, the number is more than 3,000. In Ha Giang province as a whole, there have been more than 31,000 4G SIM cards in use. The coverage of the 4G network in the whole country is now bringing substantial and spiritual products of Viettel to people. 

According to Luu Van Tuyen, Head of the Technical Division of under the Technical Center of Viettel Ha Giang (Viettel Construction Joint Stock Company), his division completes the transport and installation of two 4G BTS  a day in fine weather condition. Perhaps, the happiness of each staff of Viettel is that they have brought happiness and more opportunities in life to people in every corner of Vietnam, including those in remote and mountainous areas.

Translated by Huu Duong