Vietnam to launch commercial 5G service in 2022

5G devices made by Vietnamese company Viettel. Photo by VnExpress/Luu Quy

Vietnam is set to commercially launch 5G mobile services next year as it seeks to increase the number of internet users by reducing the number of 2G smartphones to under 5 percent.

The Ministry of Information and Communications reported at a meeting Wednesday that the service will be operated with made-in-Vietnam devices. The country aims to have 25 percent of the population using 5G by 2025, it said.

The government had earlier announced its intention to launch 5G commercially last year but the service is still on trial. Some radio frequencies have been dedicated and 5G services are being tested in 16 localities since last year.

4G services currently cover 99.8 percent of the country.

State-owned telecom giant Viettel said it has completed research and development work of 5G services. It also said it has successfully run a complete network of 5G services this month.

The communications ministry has said wants more people to switch to 4G and 5G technology by the end of next year.

It plans to have 5 percent or less of the population using 2G phones by the end of next year and to shut down 2G services by 2023.

"This means that by 2023, 100 percent of Vietnamese will be ready to use the internet," the ministry said.

As of last year, Vietnam had 24 million 2G subscribers.