Vietnam reached a significant milestone in its telecommunications sector as the 5G network was officially launched for commercial services. This event coincided with the completion of the 2G shutdown roadmap.

The 5G network promises to bring many breakthrough benefits, contributing to the development of the digital economy and national digital transformation.

Viettel Group has recently become the first mobile network operator in Vietnam to launch commercial 5G services. This initiative is supported by over 6,500 base transceiver stations (BTS), ensuring coverage across all 63 provinces and cities in the country. At present, users can access this network's complimentary 5G service by sending a text message with the code TN5G to 191 or by signing up for available packages.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, the promotion of the 5G technology application in industries is a prerequisite for comprehensive 5G deployment in Vietnam. Therefore, businesses need to keep up with trends as well as study 5G applications to suit specific industries so that they can join hands with innovative telecommunications businesses in applying the 5G technology to improve their operational efficiency.

On the other hand, the 5G technology has the potential to drive advancements in various sectors, including manufacturing, smart traffic management, energy management, construction and mining, digital education, remote healthcare, smart retail and smart cities.

According to Scott Minehane, CEO of Windsor Place Consulting, an expert of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the 5G technology with its super-fast and stable connection speed will be a powerful catalyst for Vietnam to accelerate digital transformation and comprehensive digitalization in many fields.

Research conducted by the Institute of Information and Communications Strategy, under the Ministry of Information and Communications, indicates that by the year 2025, the 5G technology is projected to account for approximately 7.34 percent of GDP growth.

Currently, the country is the home of 403 industrial parks—potentially increasing to 558 by 2030—alongside 5,000 mining sites, 34 seaports, and 22 airports (including 10 international airports) across the country, there exists a significant opportunity for telecommunications companies to concentrate on delivering 5G services.

Consequently, it is imperative for network operators to promptly implement solutions that will establish the necessary connection infrastructure and information technology related to 5G in these regions to fully take advantage of the benefits of this technology.

To take advantage of the 5G technology benefits, network operators must promptly deploy solutions that provide 5G connectivity infrastructure and information technology in the aforementioned areas.Furthermore, the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 942/QD-TTg on Approving the Strategy for e-Government Development towards Digital Government for the 2021-2025 period, with a vision to 2030, has set the goal that people and businesses can use digital services according to their individual needs, conveniently, easily, without paperwork if it is not required by the present law.

The development of e-Government and digital government is determined to be closely linked to solving major problems in order to better serve people and businesses. Therefore, 5G also needs to strongly demonstrate its connectivity role to serve the country's digital transformation goals.