In a first for Vietnam's telecom industry, Gtel Mobile has signed a preliminary deal to roam on rival VNPT's network.
Gtel Mobile, owner of the new Gmobile brand, has secured an in-principal agreement to use VNPT's infrastructure, VietnamNet Bridge reported.
This will be the first such roaming deal between two mobile brands, where the brands are owned by different companies. Prior attempts by smaller players to secure roaming deals with the larger network operators have been rebuffed
But the government has expressed a goal of restructuring the mobile market, acknowledging that there are too many companies operating their own mobile infrastructure, and is encouraging sharing as a way of making effective use of these resources.
State-owned VNPT, which operates both the Vinaphone and MobiPhone mobile brands, has itself been ordered to restructure as part of this plan. The company has proposed to merge both brands into a single mobile operator.
The Gmobile brand launched in 2012. The company has the ambitious goal of having 6 million subscribers by the end of 2015.
But its ability to rapidly expand is constrained by its limited spectrum holdings on the 1,800-MHz band.