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Telecommunication services: Domestic saturation spurs global expansion amid challenges

• Vietnam’s telecoms service revenue reached VND 147 trillion in 2024 (+3.49% yoy), the growth rate has slowed down and with little indication of significant breakthroughs. Evidence of this can be seen in the stagnant subscriber growth since 2011, 4G penetration reaching 99.99% by 2023, and mobile subscriptions exceeding 90% of the population in 2024.
• Several recent policies and decisions have been issued to strengthen the management of telecom subscriptions, aiming to further reduce the number of fake or inactive SIM cards. These include Decision No. 06/QD-TTg approving the scheme on developing the application of population data, and Decree No. 163/2024/ND-CP detailing certain articles and measures for implementation of the Telecommunications Law in Vietnam.
• The main growth driver of carriers is no longer expected to be the growth in the number of new subscribers, on the contrary, it requires new network technologies such as 5G and later 6G to be deployed more widely to retain users – meeting the demand for data upgrades, transmission speed and network stability.
• In addition, market share volatility reflects intensifying competition among major players such as Viettel, FPT, VNPT, and MobiFone. Viettel maintains its leading position in both revenue market share and subscriber market share in the mobile telecommunications segment. VNPT holds the leading position in the fixed telecommunications segment, however, they witnessed a decline in revenue despite gaining subscribers.
• In that context, many countries and regions in the global market still have room to exploit when telecom infrastructure and network technology have not yet developed strongly (especially in Africa), which is expected to become a “new breeze” for network operators. We believe this is a necessary direction for major telecoms to sustain long-term growth, though it requires time, strong capabilities, and substantial resources to manage risks and challenges.