Telecom exhibition to highlight 3G tech

Around 200 telecom and tech giants flock to a major industry show in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday to display their latest wares and services, especially those involving 3G mobile technology.

Vietnam Telecomp Electronics Internet and IT Exhibition at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in District 7 is a platform for ICT professionals to grasp market intelligence and exchange technology information.

Bui Quoc Viet, a spokesman for Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), an organizer of the event, said at a press conference on Monday that this year’s exhibition would focus on 3G tech in Vietnam.

Speakers from prestigious enterprises and State agencies will discuss Vietnam’s future ICT development, business opportunities, cloud computing, mobile internet, mobile broadband and IT applications in health care, finance, transportation and so on, he said.

Participating companies can share business development experience at a high-level symposium featuring numerous hot information and communication technology (ICT) topics.

The event is attended by local giants like Vinaphone and MobiFone, Vietnam Data Communication Company (VDC) and FPT. Meanwhile, foreign tech firms include IBM, Cisco, Siemens, Orange Telecom, ZTE, Ericsson, NTT DOCOMO, Amdocs, 3onedata and HTC Vietnam.

The exhibitors come from more than 13 countries and territories such as Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, China, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom, the U.S. and Vietnam.

Viet said Vietnam’s telecom and ICT markets had grown by leaps and bounds since 3G mobile services were launched in October last year. Vietnam now has 156 million phone subscribers, about 90% of them mobile users.

The competition among telcos is increasing, so to gain a competitive advantage, they have had to renovate their technology and improve service quality.

Early this month, VNPT inked a deal with Russia-based Altech Telecom to set up a joint venture namely RusViet Telecom with VND1.6 trillion in chartered capital. The venture will apply the fourth-generation tech as the VNPT got a license for pilot 4G service in October.

Like VNPT, CDMA network S-Fone will be participating in the exhibition in hopes of finding new partners. Ho Hong Son, general director of Saigon Postel Corporation (SPT) that manages S-Fone, said in a statement that SPT was looking for partners to diversify S-Fone services and pour more capital into the network.

SPT has been managing S-Fone since South Korean partner SK Telecom withdrew from the money-losing network. SK Telecom and SPT began joining hands in 2001 under a business corporation contract to run S-Fone as a pioneer in CDMA tech application.

The exhibition is being organized by VNPT and Hong Kong’s Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd.