Value-added services crucial to VN telecom
Developing value-added services is a must for telecom service providers to survive, as voice mail and SMS are no longer reeling in high profits, Le Nam Thang, deputy minister of the Information and Telecommunications, said at a seminar held in HCM City on October 28.
"Vietnamese telecom service providers must focus on value-added services. It is an international trend thanks to significant development of technology and domination of over-the-top content (OTT)," he said.
The seminar on value-added services development was organised by the Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services (MobiFone).
With more than 40 million mobile telephone subscribers, and a market share of 30%, MoiFone saw the turnover proportion of 61 value-added services increase from 17.1% in 2008 to more than 33% in September.
"Within the next two years, we would like to co-operate with value-added services providers in mobile applications, mobile e-commerce, mobile advertising, mobile entertainment, machine-to-machine (M2M) and enterprises solution," Mai Van Binh, chairman of MobiFone, said.
One-third of the e-commerce transactions in the US were carried out on mobile devices.
Mobile advertising worldwide has nearly doubled, from US$10 billion in 2012 up to US$19 billion in 2013.
Vietnam's young population, with 40% under 24 years old, has contributed to the development of e-commerce in the country.
Of the more than 130 million mobile subscribers in the country, 27 million are 3G subscribers. Data usage via tablets and smartphones has increased by 25% in recent years.
"Value-added services cover not only telecommunications and mobile service industry but also many different aspects of life, such as banking, agriculture, healthcare and public administration. This is the big chance to bring technology to people in their daily lives," deputy minister Thang said.
More than 300 local value-added services providers along with international hardware manufacturers took part in the seminar.