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. Can 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 sizable market opportunity with its population of over 80 million, and a low telephone penetration rate of around 4-5%, leaving ample room for growth. The country’s economy was also entering a dynamic growth phase, outpacing regional peers such as South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
These objective conditions provided Viettel with the opportunity to thrive. However, this opportunity was not exclusive to Viettel but was equally available to both the incumbent players (MobiFone, Vinaphone, Sfone) and the subsequent entrants (HTMobile, Gtel, EVNMobile). It was Viettel’s internal strengths that enabled it to formulate the right strategies and chart a unique path 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, Viettel’s aspirations were immense. We wanted to build a mobile network by Vietnamese, for Vietnamese. We aimed to compete on equal footing with the top enterprises in the market, despite being outsized by them. We envisioned that every Vietnamese citizen would own a mobile phone. Two decades ago, these aspirations might have seemed odd, but they fueled our collective drive to pursue a shared direction, regardless of the difficulties.
Can you elaborate on how this aspiration helped a small telecom company like Viettel in 2004 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 immediately turn this vision into reality. 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 back then, requiring substantial investment. The capital accumulated by Viettel from four years of VoIP and construction business operations was modest compared to the scale of investment needed. When we commenced our mobile business, Viettel had a mere 150 base stations across three major cities. This number was modest compared to other players in the market. Sfone, which launched a year earlier, had already covered 15 provinces and cities, while the more established Vinaphone and MobiFone had a presence in all localities with thousands of base stations.
The Party Committee and Board of Directors of Viettel made strategic decisions that turned potential obstacles 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 “popularize mobile phones.” We aimed to bring mobile connectivity to the entire country, including sparsely populated, remote, and border areas.
I believe that if we had involved foreign investors, they would have likely focused on short-term profitability and might not have supported our ambitious coverage goals. Our correct strategy set us apart from other mobile networks. Many people know about Viettel’s approach to purchasing equipment on deferred payment terms over 2-4 years to achieve a breakthrough in nationwide coverage. This was also an art of negotiation, ensuring cooperation while maintaining autonomy. The global telecommunications downturn presented an opportunity for Viettel to secure these deferred payment arrangements.
In tandem with our infrastructure strategy, our business policies were designed to make mobile services more accessible to the population through reasonable pricing and the elimination of usage limits. This aspiration permeated every Viettel employee, fostering a culture of dedicated hard work. Step by step, we overcame capital constraints and achieved business breakthroughs despite the challenging context.
All these factors became prerequisites for Viettel’s remarkable ascent to become one of the top mobile networks in Vietnam within just four years, a position we have maintained 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.” Subsequently, 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 aspirations. This demonstrates how Viettel has always marched in step with the nation’s development orientation and our yearning to contribute to its economic and social progress.
With such goals, Viettel has always taken on significant societal and national challenges. For instance, when we achieved nationwide coverage, we committed to supporting disadvantaged segments of the population. Integrating business with social responsibility has been our approach to fulfilling our objectives.
In my opinion, Viettel has never been a small network because our aspirations have always been grand, even when our company was still small. By setting ambitious goals, steadfastly negotiating for equitable partnerships, and embracing challenges to achieve self-reliance, we established our enterprise’s position from the very beginning.
When mobile subscriptions surpassed the population, the term “telecom saturation” became prevalent. How did Viettel navigate this situation?
In my view, the telecommunications field does not experience “saturation,” but rather a shift from traditional telecom to digital telecom. 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 near-full penetration, leading to the “saturation” of 2G.
At that juncture, Viettel set a different goal: to popularize data services so that people could access the digital world. Throughout the 3G and 4G implementation phases, we accomplished the second revolution of popularizing smartphones and bringing mobile broadband connectivity to every Vietnamese citizen.
In 2018, only about 54% of our 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 popularize smart connectivity 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. Adjusting our business perspective in this new phase aligns with our role as a market leader.
Viettel will ignite a smart connectivity boom. Our role in this new era is to continue pioneering the construction of digital infrastructure, ensuring super-broadband, super-connected, clean, open, and secure telecommunications infrastructure. This phase 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 (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 upon Viettel’s platforms.
The resonance and shared value creation that Viettel Telecom brings to society will fuel the growth of the digital economy, digital society, and digital government.
What are the specific goals of Viettel Telecom in the digital era?
As I mentioned, our strategy remains 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, encompassing critical areas: 5G/6G infrastructure, super-broadband fixed network infrastructure, IoT infrastructure, and data infrastructure. Ensuring rapid and extensive coverage of digital infrastructure will accelerate the country’s digital transformation, boost the digital economy, and elevate the lives of our citizens. This is also the driving force for telecommunications growth in the coming years.
Initially, 5G will serve not only individual customers but also enterprises, government agencies, and other entities to foster social development and support digital platforms for the advancement of the digital economy, digital society, and digital government. Of course, there were other platforms before 5G to drive development. Still, the technological advantages of 5G will accelerate this process, making it more convenient and timely. Viettel Telecom aims to bring 5G coverage to over 90% of the urban population during the initial 5G launch phase.
In parallel with building digital infrastructure, Viettel Telecom is also developing digital service platforms with goals to promote inclusivity 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, propelling their digital transformation journey.
In the era of telecommunications, the philosophy of “listening to understand the smallest needs of customers” was instrumental in Viettel’s success. Is this philosophy still relevant in the digital age?
When it comes to listening, people often think about customer feedback: listening to understand customers’ needs better and serve them more effectively. At Viettel Telecom, we listen to comprehend our customers’ needs, and from this understanding, we create services to offer them.
In the past, Viettel had a limited number of telecommunications-related services. Now, we have integrated telecommunications and information technology to serve diverse customer segments, including individuals, enterprises, households, agencies, ministries, and the government. This reflects our understanding of our customers’ inner desires and our ability to create suitable products. We listen proactively to anticipate 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. Telecom providers 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 companies can forge stronger connections with their subscribers.
Thank you for your valuable insights, Mr. Son!
