Viettel deploys 2,800 locally developed 5G base stations

By Rebecca Stone

Vietnamese operator Viettel has deployed 2,800 locally developed 5G gNodeB base stations and 2,837 transmission devices, according to the project figures.

The deployment links radio, core, voice, charging and 100G transport within Viettel's own system. Viettel presents that breadth as a route to lower foreign-supplier dependence, but it discloses neither equipment prices nor comparisons with imported alternatives, so the claimed savings remain unquantified.

These are company-reported deployment figures, not a national coverage measure. Viettel provides platform and subscriber counts, but no cell-site locations, geographic footprint, traffic volumes, throughput or service-quality results.

What has Viettel developed?

From June 2019 to December 2025, Viettel High-Tech Industry Corporation, a subsidiary of Vietnam Military Telecommunications Group, led a project to research foundational 5G technologies and build an end-to-end equipment ecosystem. Viettel describes the result as more than six years of research.

Viettel says the work covered 8 platforms and 31 technologies, from radio access and core networks through transmission. Its product list includes:

• 5G gNodeB base stations
• 5G Core network
• IMS voice system
• OCS 4.0 online billing system
• 100G Site Router transmission equipment

Viettel says it designed and integrated the components synchronously according to international standards, creating an end-to-end 5G network solution. The company provides no independent certification or interoperability results to test that claim.

What is deployed, and what is only planned?

By 2025 alone, Viettel had produced and supplied 2,000 gNodeB stations based on the Open RAN architecture. Those units support both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) 5G deployment methods.

Viettel's separate total of 2,800 covers all types of gNodeB base stations it developed and deployed. The two figures measure different sets and periods, so they should not be combined or read as 2,000 installations. The report gives no split by architecture, region, traffic load or throughput.

How does 100G transport fit?

Viettel's Site Router 100G system supplies the transport layer for its radio, core and fixed-network services. The disclosed rollout comprises:

• 648 Site Router 100G units deployed in 2023
• Another 2,189 units expected during 2025, taking the stated total to 2,837
• Equipment carrying 3G, 4G and 5G mobile traffic, broadband internet and other telecommunications services

The stated 2,837-device total is about 4.4 times the 648-unit 2023 deployment. However, the wording leaves some timing ambiguity. The headline count treats all 2,837 devices as operational, while the detailed sequence calls 2,189 an expected 2025 addition. Viettel does not provide separate year-end delivery, installation or commissioning data.

What do the subscriber figures represent?

Three platform-level figures indicate the scale Viettel claims for its core, voice and billing systems:

• 5G Core NSA: 17 million subscribers
• IMS voice system: 50 million subscribers
• OCS 4.0 online billing system: 100 million subscribers

These counts describe the subscriber bases reached by each platform; they do not establish how many people actively use 5G, make IMS calls or transact through OCS. In particular, Viettel provides no standalone-5G subscriber figure. It also offers no ARPU, revenue, congestion or outage data, so the numbers show platform scale rather than commercial performance.

Can production support a larger rollout?

Viettel reports that its team built a production line for several 5G base-station configurations and an automated system for testing product quality. It also standardized production, measurement and calibration processes, which Viettel says supports consistent output and easier deployment scaling.

That argument remains partly qualitative. The disclosure provides no production yield, defect rate, unit cost, factory capacity or delivery schedule against which to assess the claimed quality control and scalability.

Has the technology moved beyond Vietnam?

Viettel says it has exported its 5G products to India, the US and the UAE, while radio equipment has undergone testing in Turkey. The report does not identify buyers, shipment values, contract terms or delivery schedules, and testing in Turkey should not be treated as a commercial sale.

Viettel cites 8 patents granted in the US, 50 patents in Vietnam and 43 international scientific publications as evidence of its research output. Those credentials support the technical claim, but they do not establish interoperability, cost competitiveness or commercial demand.

What is the policy significance?

Viettel argues that developing and operating its own platforms can reduce dependence on foreign suppliers, provide independent telecommunications infrastructure and support digital transformation and specialized defense and security applications. It says this control allows it to manage connectivity, optimize network resources and meet customer needs. No comparative cost or outage data tests those benefits.

The dual-use project has received a State Council recommendation for consideration for the Ho Chi Minh Prize for Science and Technology, seventh round, following results announced by the Ministry of Science and Technology on October 18, 2026. A recommendation is not a final award, and the disclosure attaches no prize decision, public funding amount or rollout schedule.

The next proof points are completion of the stated 2025 router additions, disclosed export volumes, production economics and a State Council decision on the prize recommendation.