Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - While the commercial 5G network is not yet operationalin Vietnam, local tech firms are exporting their 5G technology to the world.

VinSmart,for example, has agreed to ship about 2 million of its Vsmart 5Gsmartphones to the US under outsourcing contracts this year.

“5Gtechnology gives a new player like VinSmart a chance to compete with bigplayers in the world," said Le Thi Thu Thuy, vice chairwoman ofVinSmart.

Justestablished in Hanoi last year, the Vingroup unit became the firstproducer of 5G smartphones in Vietnam. Thuy said it would export its ownbrand's 5G equipment to North American markets next year.

Ina recent press conference in Hanoi held by VinSmart and Qualcomm, Thuy told Vietnam News thatVingroup has invested tens of millions of US dollars in developing R&Dlabs, production lines and employing local talents.

Thuyalso said VinSmart spent a lot to have licenses to use the US-based Qualcomm'stechnology, one of the leading 5G providers and the most well-known chipsetproviders in the world.

Thefirms partnered up in December 2018 with a patent licensing agreementcovering multimode complete terminals and Qualcomm has supportedVinSmart in developing, manufacturing and selling branded multimode completeterminals such as 4G/5G smartphones to the US market.

Sincethe partnership, VinSmart has launched 13 smartphones based on the QualcommSnapdragon Mobile platforms both in Viet Nam as well as in Spain, Russia, andMyanmar. This July, it launched its first 5G-enabled smartphones, the VinSmartAris series.

Besides,smartphones, Qualcomm has also worked with VinSmart in developing 5G productcategories such as MiFi (mobile WiFi routers), Customer Premise Equipment(CPE), Wi-Fi 6 Smart Home, AI Edge and Camera, and 5G laptops for both theVietnamese and international markets.

Withouta commercial 5G market in Vietnam, Qualcomm and VinSmart use a lab 5Genvironment to make sure the devices are compatible with most network operatorsglobally.

ThieuPhuong Nam, country director for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia at Qualcomm, said:“VinSmart’s first 5G-enabled smartphone produced in Viet Nam is evidence ofVingroup's capacity to research and develop 5G terminal devices, making itready for the transformation of the telecoms infrastructure in the country.This creates confidence that Viet Nam canbe on par with global peers on 5G technology in the future, and is goodevidence for Vietnam’s acceleration in the Industry 4.0 era.”

MentioningQualcomm's most important target is to help to bring 'Made in Vietnam' productsto the world, Nam added: “We are working to expand 5G technology not only inthe smartphone industry but also in distance learning, health care, internet ofthings and smart manufacturing in the country."

InJune, Qualcomm opened its first research and development facility in SoutheastAsia in Hanoi, aiming to develop wireless technologies and internet of things(IoT) technology and provide testing services to local manufacturing partners.Beside VinSmart, its other partners include the local tech firms Bkav,Viettel and VNPT.

Fourdays ago, CEO of Bkav Group Nguyen Tu Quang announced on his Facebook page thata batch of AI View security cameras built with Qualcomm’s technology will beexported to the US market this month. He also said four lines of AI Viewcameras of the firm have been certified to comply with US FCC standards.

Thefirst batch of Bkav products with 5G technology was exported to India in June,Quang added.

Chinesefirm Huawei also sees Vietnam as a promising 5G market and recently said ithopes to develop its 5G network in the country in industry, connectivity,cloud computing, artificial intelligence and computing.

Accordingto Qualcomm’s leaders, 5G will boost local digital transformation andenhance tech-related manufacturing which currently accounts for 17 percentof GDP.

Lastyear, Viettel was the first Vietnamese firm to complete a 5G networktrial, followed by Vinaphone and Mobifone.

Thoughthe Ministry of Information and Communications' plan to commercialisethe 5G network with entirely domestically produced equipment this month is notcomplete, Thuy from VinSmart told VietnamNews: "Whenever the 5G network reaches a wide coverage in Viet Nam, wewill be very ready to serve the local market."

Viettel,Vinaphone and Mobifone have also told the media they expected to commercialisetheir latest mobile network technology in 2021./.