Vietnam’s communications ministry awarded the country’s largest mobile operator Viettel a licence to run 5G trials in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The military-run operator, with a 40 per cent share of mobile subscribers, received a one-year permit from the Ministry of Information and Communications to evaluate technical features and the feasibility of deploying a 5G network.

Nguyen Manh Hung, minister of Information and Communications, recently suggested four operators would receive 5G trial licences. He also said the government plans to make the licensing and approval process easier.

Viettel officially launched 4G service in April 2018, claiming 95 per cent population coverage, with 4G users accounting for about 12 per cent of its 58 million total mobile connections, Q4 2018 data from GSMA Intelligence showed.