Vietnam smartphone subscription to triple
Vietnam is expected to witness one of the largest growths in mobile broadband subscriptions in Southeast Asia together with Myanmar, Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Philippines, by 2021.
By the end of 2015, mobile subscription penetration reached almost 150% in Vietnam while mobile broadband subscription penetration was close to 40%.
Ericsson ConsumerLab analysis based on face-to-face interviews reveals that more than 30% of smartphone and weekly Internet users in Vietnam are using all these key application categories on a daily basis: social networking, instant messaging and social videos (free online videos or videos on social media).
When looking at each application category, more than 70% of the survey respondents are using social networking, more than 50% using instant messaging and more than 40% using free online videos or videos in social media on a daily basis.
“With a view to monetising mobile data services growth, operators need an environment that enables agility in service creation, delivery and management, with fast launch of a much broader range of innovative products. Innovation comes through an ecosystem of partners and suppliers,” said Jan Wassenius, head of Ericsson Vietnam and Myanmar.
”With the roll out of the 4G/LTE network in Vietnam we expect to see more mobile data services being used. Services such as social networking and video streaming will continue to grow as Vietnamese people continue to embrace the benefit of data connectivity,” Wassenius added.
Co-operation with MIC
At a meeting with Jan Wassenius on June 15, minister of information and communications Truong Minh Tuan praised Ericsson’s investment in Vietnam.
“Vietnam is focusing on building telecommunication infrastructure and information and technology (IT)," said the minister.
The minister also asked Ericsson to invest in research and development (R&D) centres in Vietnam, especially at hi-tech parks in Hanoi, HCM City and Da Nang.
The minister also expressed his hope that Ericsson would boost co-operation with domestic enterprises, encouraging them to join the company’s global IT service supply chain and implement training courses in order to help Vietnam enhance the quality of its human resources.
In response to the minister’s proposal, Wassenius said that the company would consider training programmes in collaboration with Vietnam given that co-operation in the field of education and training was compatible with the company’s policies.