Mr. Cao Anh Son, CEO of Viettel Telecommunications Corporation (Viettel Telecom), shared the journey of two decades of Viettel Mobile (October 15, 2004 – October 15, 2024).
Great Aspirations Lead to Great Achievements
After 20 years, the story of Viettel becoming the leading mobile network in Vietnam still inspires entrepreneurs. Could you share the success factors that contributed to Viettel’s entry into the market at that time?
Looking back, we can say that Viettel was quite fortunate to have the right combination of “timing, location, and people.” Vietnam presented a substantial potential market with over 80 million people, and a low telephone penetration rate of 4-5%, leaving ample room for growth. The country’s economy was also entering a dynamic development phase, outpacing regional countries such as South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. These were the objective conditions that presented Viettel with growth opportunities.
However, these opportunities were not exclusive to Viettel but were equally available to other established and emerging networks. It was Viettel’s internal strengths that enabled us to formulate the right strategies and take a unique approach to overcome challenges and become the leading mobile network in the market.
At that time, Viettel was a small-scale company in the mobile telecommunications field, with limited capital, experience, and resources. However, our aspirations were immense. We wanted to build a mobile network by Vietnamese, for Vietnamese. We wanted to compete on equal footing with the top enterprises in the market, despite being outscaled by them. We envisioned that every Vietnamese citizen would own a mobile phone. Two decades ago, these aspirations might have seemed strange, but they fueled our collective drive to pursue a shared direction, despite the challenges.
Can you elaborate on how these aspirations enabled a small network like Viettel in 2004 to rise to the top in Vietnam?
Since its establishment in 1989, Viettel has always aspired to become a technology company serving the Vietnamese people. However, due to limited resources at the time, we couldn’t turn this vision into reality immediately. We obtained a telecommunications business license in 1995 but only started offering long-distance VoIP services in 2000.
Mobile telecommunications was a high-tech field that required substantial investment. The capital accumulated by Viettel from four years of VoIP and construction business was modest compared to the scale of investment needed. When we started our mobile business, Viettel had only 150 base stations across three major cities. This number was modest compared to other networks. Sfone, which launched a year earlier, had already covered 15 provinces and cities, while the more established Vinaphone and MobiFone were present in all localities with thousands of base stations.
The Party Committee and Board of Directors of Viettel made strategic and insightful decisions, turning challenges into opportunities for breakthrough success. Firstly, our determination to maintain self-reliance was crucial in enabling Viettel to independently execute strategies aligned with our aspiration to “universalize mobile phones.” We aimed to provide mobile network coverage across the country, including sparsely populated, remote, and border areas. I believe that if we had involved foreign investors, they would have likely focused on profitability metrics and might not have supported the idea of covering less populated areas.
Our distinct strategy set Viettel apart. Many people know about our approach to purchasing equipment on credit with a two-to-four-year payment term to achieve a breakthrough in infrastructure across Vietnam. This was also an art of negotiation, ensuring cooperation while maintaining autonomy. The global telecommunications downturn presented an opportunity for Viettel to negotiate this deal, and it became the foundation for our robust development.
In tandem with our infrastructure strategy, our business policies were geared towards making mobile phones more accessible to the population through reasonable pricing and eliminating usage limitations. This aspiration permeated every Viettel employee, fostering a competitive atmosphere and a dedication to self-sacrifice for the greater good. Step by step, we overcame capital constraints and achieved breakthroughs in our business, even amidst challenges.
All these factors became prerequisites for Viettel’s remarkable growth, enabling us to become one of the top mobile networks in Vietnam within just four years and maintain this position to this day.
When did Viettel stop considering itself a “small network”?
To answer this question, let’s revisit our history. From the early days of our business, the goals we set were unique: “A mobile phone for every Vietnamese citizen.” Later, we set similar targets: “A smartphone for every Vietnamese,” “High-speed Internet access for every household,” and so on. You can see that our strategic objectives were not focused on market share, profits, or revenue but were closely aligned with the country’s goals. This demonstrates how Viettel has always walked hand in hand with the nation’s development orientation and our eagerness to contribute to economic and social progress.
With such objectives, Viettel has always taken on significant societal and national challenges. For instance, when we achieved nationwide network coverage, we committed to supporting underprivileged groups. Integrating business with social responsibility has been our approach to achieving our goals.
I believe that Viettel has never been a small network because our aspirations have always been grand, even when our company was still small in scale. By setting ambitious goals, standing firm in negotiations for equitable cooperation, and embracing challenges to achieve self-reliance, Viettel established its enterprise position from the very beginning.
When mobile subscriptions exceeded the population, the term “telecom saturation” became prevalent. How did Viettel navigate this situation?
In my opinion, the telecommunications field does not experience “saturation,” but rather a shift from traditional to digital telecommunications. Telecommunication services, which used to be the primary offering, are now evolving into an enabling platform. In other words, “telecom saturation” only applies to a specific service or technology. Fifteen years ago, 2G mobile phones primarily served voice calls and SMS. By 2015, this technology had reached almost 100% of the population, indicating the “saturation” of 2G.
At that juncture, Viettel set a different goal: to universalize data services so that people could access the digital world. Throughout the 3G and 4G implementation phases, Viettel brought about a second revolution by making smartphones accessible to all Vietnamese citizens and providing them with mobile broadband connections.
In 2018, only about 54% of customers used mobile data, but today, this figure has soared to over 92% (2024), surpassing the global and Asian averages (82%) – according to GSMA Intelligence 2024. This indicates that while 4G is nearing saturation, the emergence of 5G ushers in a new era, marking the beginning of a phase to universalize smart connections for every Vietnamese citizen.
Maturing Through Service to the Motherland
Is Viettel ready for a new chapter in telecommunications?
Absolutely! But this time, it will be different. Viettel Telecom has shifted its business strategy from competition to collaboration. Changing our business perspective in this new era aligns with our role as a market-leading enterprise.
Viettel will ignite a smart connectivity boom. Our role in this new phase is to continue pioneering the construction of digital infrastructure, ensuring super-broadband and hyper-connected telecommunications infrastructure, as well as clean, open, and secure data infrastructure. This period also marks a robust transition for Viettel Telecom towards creating digital applications and platforms that hold significance for societal development.
What is certain is that these platforms will be connected by broadband and cutting-edge technology. Leveraging the foundations built by Viettel, society as a whole (including enterprises and independent developers) will be free to innovate and create products for users. For example, autonomous vehicles, smart factories, and zero-latency television will be developed by society, offering services built on Viettel’s platforms.
The resonance and co-creation of value will spark a boom that Viettel Telecom brings to society, fostering the development of a digital economy, digital society, and digital government.
What are the specific goals of Viettel Telecom in the digital era?
As mentioned earlier, our strategies remain closely aligned with the goals of the Party and the Government in developing the country. In this new phase, Viettel continues to pioneer the construction of infrastructure for the nation’s digital transformation, including critical infrastructures such as 5G/6G, super-broadband fixed network, IoT, and data infrastructure. Ensuring rapid and extensive coverage of digital infrastructure will accelerate the country’s digital transformation, boost the growth of the digital economy, and elevate the lives of our citizens. This will also be the driving force for telecommunications growth in the coming years.
Initially, 5G will serve not only individual customers but also enterprises, government agencies, and more, fostering societal development and enabling digital platforms to propel the digital economy, digital society, and digital government. Of course, there were other platforms before 5G that facilitated development. Still, the technological advantages of 5G will accelerate this process, making it more convenient and timely. Viettel Telecom aims to provide 5G coverage to over 90% of the population in urban areas during the initial 5G launch phase.
In parallel with building digital infrastructure, Viettel Telecom is also developing digital service platforms with goals to promote accessibility and collaboration. The TV360 digital television platform embodies our aspiration to deliver high-quality digital television services to every citizen and household. The Viettel Home smart home platform is designed to seamlessly connect all smart devices within a household, making life more convenient, modern, and secure. Similarly, the SME Hub platform aims to aggregate all digital services for businesses on a single platform, driving the digital transformation of enterprises.
In the past, when telecommunications was primarily about voice calls, Viettel’s philosophy of “listening to understand the smallest needs of customers” was renowned for its success. Is this philosophy still relevant in the digital age?
When it comes to listening, people often think about the aspect of customer feedback: listening to better serve and care for customers. At Viettel Telecom, we listen to understand our customers’ needs. Based on this understanding, we create services to cater to those needs.
In the past, Viettel offered a limited range of telecommunications-related services. Now, we integrate telecommunications with information technology to serve diverse customer segments, including individuals, enterprises, households, agencies, ministries, and the government. This is a testament to our understanding of our customers’ inner needs and our ability to create suitable products. We proactively listen to understand our customers’ needs, even before they express them.
In the digital age, customer demands are becoming more stringent, and the channels for information exchange are becoming more diverse and complex. Telecommunication companies need to invest in digital tools to take a more proactive approach to understanding their customers. By actively listening to and reaching out to customers to help them resolve their issues, telecom providers can foster stronger connections with their subscribers.
Thank you for your valuable insights, Mr. Son!
