Nokia wants share in Vietnam’s 5G commercialization

Finnish giant Nokia and its government are interested in becoming a reliable partner in Vietnam’s digital transformation and joining local telcos in the fifth generation (5G) commercialization process.

Nokia is also looking for deeper engagement in the digital transformation process in the Southeast Asian country in the fields of seaports, manufacturing, healthcare, and education, Finnish ambassador to Vietnam Keijo Norvanto and Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmak said at a Wednesday meeting in Hanoi with Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung.

Vietnam and Finland are set to upgrade their relationship in the near future, so the two sides will prioritize cooperation in semiconductors and manufacturing equipment via Taiwan-based Foxconn, they added.

For his part, Minister Hung, who spent most of his career in the telecommunications sector and led military-run telco Viettel Group between 2014 and 2018, called on Nokia to support Vietnamese telcos in developing digital infrastructure and setting up research and development (R&D) centers in Vietnam given the country’s high-quality IT workforce.

Hung also asked the Finnish government help train the digital workforce and build laboratories at the Hanoi-based Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology.

He suggested the Finnish embassy coordinate with his ministry to organize seminars to share experiences with Vietnamese mobile network carriers in deploying 5G.

Nokia spent up to EUR4.3 billion on R&D in 2023 and has invested heavily in 5G solutions in the past two years, increasing its 5G market share from 22% to 29%. The firm has applied 5nm chips in its 5G base station solutions, helping reduce operating costs for carriers.

Vietnam has been trial running 5G in major cities and plans to allow massive commercialization this year. Viettel Group last week won an auction for the rights to use 5G radio frequencies in the 2500-2600 MHz band for the coming 15 years.