More than half of Vietnam’s population now have access to the internet, and the market’s challenger operators have made strong gains this year, according to figures from the national regulator.
The Vietnam Telecommunications Authority revealed that over 47.3 million Vietnamese residents now have internet access, equivalent to around 52% of the population, Thanh Nien Newsreported.
This includes 36.3 million broadband subscribers, up from 22.3 million last year.
Vietnam’s six mobile networks now have 120.6 million subscriptions between them. The market remains dominated by mobile, with landline phone subscribers shrinking even further to 6.7 million in 2015, from 9.5 million in 2013.
Operators including Hanoi Telecom, FPT Telecom, VTVCab and SCTV experienced strong growth during the year, according to the regulator. But the market still remains dominated by incumbents Viettel, VNPT and MobiFone.
According to the report, FPT has become the latest Vietnamese operator to request permission to conduct a 4G trial.
Viettel, VNPT Vinaphone and MobiFone have already secured permission to conduct 4G trials, and Viettel launched an LTE-A trial in parts of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau province earlier this month.