Mobile virtual network operators hold 1% market share
With over one million subscribers, the country’s three mobile virtual network operators, who piggyback on large telecom companies, have a market share of 1%.
iTel, Reddi and Local do not have their own infrastructure or radio frequencies and instead pay to use VinaPhone, Viettel, MobiFone, Vietnamobile, or Gtel’s.
iTel, which depends on VinaPhone’s infrastructure and frequencies, has one million subscribers, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.
It reported revenues of VND442 billion ($18.4 million) this year, 4.5 times the whole of last year’s, and profits of VND28 billion.
Reddi, which has nearly 50,000 subscribers, saw sales of VND15 billion. It had losses of VND27.8 billion and VND55.9 billion in 2020 and 2021.
Local, which launched its services in mid-2022, focuses on providing low-cost data packages, which are preferred by young people.
In April Digilife Vietnam Digital Services Company received a mobile virtual network operator’s license but has yet to begin offering services.
Such companies focus on attracting customers interested in large data packages at reasonable charges such as workers, students and foreign tourists.
Vietnam had nearly 120 million mobile phone subscribers, including some 93.7 million using smartphones, according to the ministry.