Viettel among Top 30 world telcos

GSMA Intelligence puts Viettel among Top 30 largest telecoms companies globally by subscriber numbers.

Viettel has been ranked by GSMA Intelligence in the Top 30 largest telecommunications companies globally in terms of mobile phone subscriber numbers.

As at mid-September, total subscribers in its nine international markets - Laos, Cambodia, Timor Leste, Cameroon, Haiti, Mozambique, Burundi, Peru and Tanzania - stood at 26 million. Viettel Global, including Vietnam, has 90 million subscribers.

Viettel’s overseas subscribers were 10 million in 2013 and have doubled in three years.

Its businesses in Cambodia, Laos and Mozambique have made significant contributions. With a population of 50 million, Tanzania, the most populous overseas market Viettel has invested in, has seen strong growth in terms of mobile subscribers. Halotel, Viettel’s local brand name, covers 95 per cent of the country. Subscriber numbers reached 1 million within three months of launch and 2 million within nine months.

In the second quarter of this year Viettel’s overseas turnover was $493.8 million, up 13 per cent year-on-year.

Its business in Africa has seen growth in turnover and subscriber numbers, in particular in Burundi and Tanzania. Turnover in the second quarter in these markets increased 19 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, against the first quarter.

Nexttel, Viettel’s brand in Cameroon, had 2.5 million subscribers in the second quarter, up 54 per cent year-on-year. It received the Best Internet Service Provider award in the country.

Viettel’s business in Mozambique was stable, with revenue rising 8 per cent in the second quarter from 4 million subscribers.

Its business in Peru has made a breakthrough. Turnover of Bitel, Viettel’s brand in the country, was $5.9 million in the second quarter, an increase of 105 per cent year-on-year. Growth in subscriber numbers was five-fold the growth of the total for the country’s entire telecommunications industry.

In Viettel’s overseas markets, mobile internet services are set to boom. Turnover from data doubled in the second quarter year-on-year and 3G subscribers increased 1.5-fold year-on-year in the first half.

According to Viettel, 3G and 4G hold great potential in the future. It plans to enhance its 3G network and expand its 4G network in overseas markets to improve the quality of services and meet increasing demand from customers.

by Do Huong / vneconomictimes.com