The Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) on June 22 presented a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) license to the Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC).

VTC will offer mobile services based on EVN Telecom’s 3G facilities. It will also negotiate with other mobile networks for roaming services in the areas where EVN Telecom’s network doesn’t cover yet. VTC may have to use 11-digit phone numbers because the MoIC has granted all ten-digit phone numbers to other mobile operators.

Last August, the MoIC granted a similar licence to Indochina Telecom. The Corporation for Financing and Promoting Technology (FPT Group) has applied for a MVNO licence.

With MVNO licences, mobile service providers don’t have to build up their own telecom infrastructure, and can share existing facilities with other operators.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) suggests that the biggest MVNO advantage is that telecom network facilities can be used at maximum capacity using pre-existing infrastructure, which benefits both the mobile virtual network operators and mobile network operators.

Appearing the first time in 1999 in the UK, the MVNO model is rising in popularity, with over 400 networks in the world, including 60 in the US, 39 in the Netherlands and 29 in Germany.

If FPT is licensed, it will be the 10^th mobile network, following MobiFone, VinaPhone, Viettel, S-Fone, EVN Telecom, Vietnammobile, Beeline, Indochina Telecom and VTC.

Source: vietnamnet