Vietnam’s 5G Base Stations are ready for India
Mr. Lê Trường Giang, Director of the 5G base station project at Viettel High Tech, said that radio equipment is the most complex system in a telecommunications network. Viettel High Tech began researching 5G base stations in 2019, building on the foundation of making 4G equipment since 2015. Under the direction and leadership of the Minister of Information and Communications, in 2020, Viettel High Tech started participating in the Open RAN open standards community.
Viettel High Tech joined the Open RAN community and collaborated with enterprises worldwide to co-develop products. Due to the closed and complex nature of radio systems in research, the product requires a large investment and resources to move into production.
Currently, Viettel High Tech’s 5G radio base stations range from low to high power types and are ready for telecom carriers to deploy. At present, Viettel High Tech’s base transceiver stations have been certified by the Telecommunications Authority in June 2024. Viettel’s 5G equipment has already been deployed in some provinces such as Hanoi, Da Nang, Ha Nam, and Ninh Thuan, and by the end of this year, it will be rolled out in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. This equipment has also been “exported” to India by Viettel High Tech.
In addition to 5G products deployed for public networks, Mr. Lê Trường Giang also mentioned that Viettel High Tech is now deeply involved in researching and developing 5G Private Networks, such as for factories and mines, which is a future trend for 5G.
According to Mr. Lê Trường Giang, a basic telecommunications network is divided into key equipment layers, including access network equipment, radio transmission equipment, transmission devices, core network equipment, and exchanges. “As of now, Viettel High Tech can confidently say that we have fully mastered telecommunications network equipment for 4G and 5G generations. All equipment has been tested and commercially deployed on the network.”
Starting with devices such as exchanges and billing systems, Viettel High Tech has deployed these in 12 markets, including Vietnam and 11 other markets where Viettel High Tech has invested, covering 193 million subscribers. The 5G network system has also been tested on Viettel High Tech’s network with a scale of 1 million subscribers. The IMS exchange system, used for voice calls on the 4G network, has been deployed by Viettel High Tech for more than 10 million subscribers on its network.
Regarding transmission equipment, Mr. Lê Trường Giang mentioned that Viettel High Tech currently has 10G and 100G transmission equipment. These devices have been deployed on Viettel High Tech’s network and ensure business operations for the network. In addition, Viettel High Tech also offers end-user products for broadband fixed networks, such as ONT and Wi-Fi products. Currently, Viettel High Tech has deployed 1.5 million ONT optical terminal devices (an optical modem connecting to the endpoint via fiber optic cable) on the network.
To develop products that stand alongside leading global enterprises, besides the ORAN community, Mr. Lê Trường Giang noted that Viettel High Tech has also partnered with top chip manufacturers such as Qualcomm, Intel, and software, server, and hardware manufacturing partners, enabling Viettel High Tech to accelerate its product development.
A typical “Make in Vietnam” product
Mr. Nguyễn Anh Cương: Viettel High Tech’s successful independent production of 5G base stations demonstrates the country’s technological autonomy. The Deputy Director of the Telecommunications Authority affirmed that the successful independent production of 5G base stations by Viettel High Tech and their official deployment not only illustrates the corporation’s pioneering spirit and superior capabilities but also attests to the nation’s technological independence.
“This achievement is the result of relentless efforts, substantial investments in research and development, and the high determination of the Minister, the leadership team at the Ministry of Information and Communications, and the Viettel High Tech Corporation. Moreover, the 5G base station equipment developed by Viettel High Tech adheres to open standards.”
Following the Minister of Information and Communications’ directive since 2020, that a latecomer like Vietnam should stand on the shoulders of others to move ahead, researching and producing equipment based on open technology will allow technology enterprises to cooperate and leverage each other’s strengths to progress faster and delve deeper, ultimately leading to superior technology.
Mr. Nguyễn Anh Cương further noted that implementing this direction has helped Viettel High Tech and Vietnam become one of the few countries in the world to master 5G equipment, despite Vietnam’s low starting point. Few people, both domestically and internationally, believed that Vietnam could achieve this.
Additionally, the Telecommunications Authority leadership noted that alongside enterprises and following the instructions of the Ministry’s leadership, the Telecommunications Authority strives to support Viettel High Tech in researching and investing in testing capabilities to evaluate and ensure that equipment is produced according to technical standards before being deployed. In 2023, the Telecommunications Authority’s Testing Center was also the first unit with the capability to test 5G base stations, thus promptly measuring and certifying the official operation of Viettel High Tech’s 5G base station equipment.
