Hanoi Times – Around 320,000 laptops will be sold in Vietnam this year, doubling that of 2007, and along with this the wireless service market will boom, predicts a German market research group, GFK.
Investment wave in Wifi
The bright future for wireless services has urged many companies to invest heavily in this area.
FPT Telecom’s wireless Internet services now cover most banks, hotels and luxurious restaurants in inner
Viettel Mobile has begun testing wireless Internet services by providing free services in some districts in
Two CDMA-based mobile networks, S-Fone and EVN Telecom, are implementing wireless Internet services.
No standard wireless model
Though Wifi is praised for its business potentials, telecom firms are hesitating to develop Wifi. Most of them are just testing services.
“After an experimental period, we see space barriers and we are seeking better solutions for these,” said Viettel’s Deputy Director in charge of technology, Hoang Son.
Truong Nguyen Thu Ha, Director of the FPT Telecom’s Added Value Service Development Centre, said a wireless transmitter can cover an area of 30-50m diameter and the coverage is less if there are more walls.
S-Fone’s wireless Internet service for mobile phone is praised for its good quality but the charges are still high. Users have to pay over VND 1.5 million (nearly US$ 100) to buy a USB Internet and monthly fees of between VND 250,000 and VND 400,000 (US$ 15-25).
For EVN Telecom, though the service is wireless, users have to use a slow dial-up connection.
Security is also a problem for wireless Internet services as it is said that hackers can attack computers through Wifi system. Some service providers have warned that as wireless services in
