Viettel's 5G ambitions creep forward with du agreementViettel's 5G ambitions creep forward with du agreement

Vietnam's biggest operator, Viettel, has signed its first offshore agreement for 5G open RAN – a small step forward for one of the industry's more unlikely projects.

Viettel's research arm High Tech and local partner High Cloud Technologies (HCT) announced an MoU with Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co (du) during MWC last week.

The MoU references trials of Viettel's open RAN on both public and private 5G networks and "large-scale commercial deployment" in the future.

Viettel said it was exploring further sales in the Middle East to help grow its ecosystem and to strengthen its position in "the next-generation telecom value chain."

While the announcement did not specify details it is likely using Viettel's open RAN platform built on Qualcomm chips – a first for Qualcomm. The operator has begun deploying it domestically, with 300 sites to be upgraded in the first quarter.

The du announcement follows a $1 million sale of 4G/5G network gear for Middle Eastern operators to HCT in December.

In reality, an MoU doesn't commit anyone to anything, and du didn't even bother issuing its own news release. It has signed 5G-Advanced and cloud RAN deals in the last five months with its 5G supplier, Nokia.

Not healthy

And there can be few businesses more depressed right now than 5G equipment, unless it's open RAN. Selling network kit is a tough business at the best of times, and the economics are stacked against smaller competitors, as Samsung and Mavenir can attest.

That's not healthy. Viettel is exceptional in being the only operator to also be in the 5G gear business, but it is worth tracking new entrants in any case, even if they are progressing in such miniscule increments as this and even if it is in pursuit of a national industry policy.

Vietnam is no doubt hoping to replicate China's success in climbing the value chain in multiple verticals, knowing that home-grown is less costly than imported technology and can become a foundation for future industries.

The telco doesn't have the cheap credit engine that funded Huawei's and ZTE's global expansion, but it does have stakes in offshore operators in ten emerging markets that will be anxious to buy 5G gear at ultra-low cost. So it has plenty to gain from even modest advances in technology.

The company is owned by the Vietnam military in a conglomerate that also includes the national postal service. It achieved a net profit of 46.3 trillion Vietnamese dong (US$1.8 billion) on revenue of 172.5 trillion dong ($6.74 billion) in 2023.

Its global division, which contains its offshore operator affiliates, recorded fourth-quarter earnings of $148 million up fourfold from 2023.