According to experts on network infrastructure, the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group (VNPT), FPT Telecom and Viettel will have bigger advantages than their rivals in providing FTTx services because they now have a high number of ADSL loyal clients. However, experts have also warned that other service providers, though joining the market later than the three giants, will still be redoubtable rivals because they will immediately master technologies when they join the market.

FTTx – the inevitable trend

In Wikipedia, FTTx is defined as Fiber to the x, a generic term for any broadband network architecture that uses optical fibers to replace all or part of the usual metal local loop used for last mile telecommunications. The generic term originated as a generalization of several configurations of fiber deployment (FTTN, FTTC, FTTB, FTTH...), all starting by FTT but differentiated by the last letter, which is substituted by an “x” in the generalization.

In Vietnam, FPT Telecom is considered a pioneer in the FTTx market when it made the first step to use the technology in December 2006. The move has been followed by VNPT and Viettel. According to Hoang Anh Tuan, MA, Director of the Electronics – Telecommunications project under the Ministry of National Defense’s TECAPRO Company, among four kinds of FTTx, only FTTH ( Fiber-to-the-home, fiber reaches the boundary of the living space, such as a box on the outside wall of a home) has the most suitable technology, meets international standards and proves toeffectively bring most services to users.

ISPs entering the new race

According to Telecomasia.net, only seven percent of enterprises in Vietnam are using fiber optic cable Internet, which means that the market remains very lucrative with a lot of potential customers, including at least 300,000 enterprises and millions of households. Therefore, internet service providers (ISPs) have been rushing to launch services in order to lure more clients.

According to experts on network infrastructure, the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group (VNPT), FPT Telecom and Viettel will have bigger advantages than their rivals in providing FTTx services, because they now have a high number of ADSL loyal clients. However, the experts have also warned that other service providers, though joining the market later than the three giants, will still be redoubtable rivals because they will immediately master technologies when they join the market.

Though CMC Telecommunication Infrastructure, a subsidiary of CMC Group, has just been established, it has immediately provided FTTx services with fully configured FTTH- GPON technology at speeds up to 2.5Gbps, or 200 times faster than ADSL, and multi-service support. Their services and support allows them to satisfy the demand for heightening the efficiency of information technology applications in production and business of enterprises and individual clients.

Analysts say that CMC TI has a lot of advantages in the market especially technogical advantage of using 100 percent fiber optical cables based on the latest technology Gpon. CMC TI can easily launch promotion campaigns, offer low service fees, and all the while still easily earn turnover.

Over the last year, the ISP has made a big leap: CMC Telecom Group invested more than 200 billion dong to build the telecom infrastructure for fiber optic cable Internet at the HCM City high-tech zone in January 2010. Afterwards, in April 2010, it launched GigaNet package with a maximum speed of 2.5GB, and 24 – 480 Mbps for a two-way connection. Besides, CMC is running the promotion program, and offering the fee reduction of 35 percent to FTTH subscribers.

Many analysts have commented that CMC TI is following a risky strategy when it targets client-businesses in two big cities Hanoi and HCM City.

The big leaps made by CMC TI has certainly forced other service providers to conjure a plan to compete with the “younger brother”. Analysts say the race for FTTx has started. Since the basic charges are nearly the same, they say, the winners will be the ISPs who can ensure a high quality of data transmission andprofessional customer-care policies.