VinaPhone 3G quality assessment worth $41.6 million

The Hanoi Times - If it passes the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications’ o­ngoing examination of the quality of its 3G network, VinaPhone may be given back 750 billion dong (over $41.6 million), 50 percent of its total deposit.

 The Ministry is measuring the quality of VinaPhone’s 3G network, the first of its kind in Vietnam. They will check four areas: populated, unpopulated, low and high topography in the north, south and central region.

Quality assessment will be based o­n the following standards: the ratio of successful calls, the speed of broadband Internet, the quality of video calls and the effectiveness of frequency use.

The study will last for o­ne month. Experts will need an additional two weeks to process the data.

If the quality reaches standards promised by VinaPhone in its 3G dossiers, the firm will be allowed to take back 50 percent of its deposit and receive the remainder after three years.

VinaPhone deposited 1.5 trillion dong to be selected as a 3G network operator. The money is kept at a local bank and VinaPhone is still paid the interest.

The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications will assess MobiFone’s 3G network in the third quarter of 2010.