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In the early 1990s, Vietnam was negotiating the Vietnam–United States Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), and telecommunications was one of two sensitive sectors the United States demanded be opened (besides banking). At the start of 2026, Vietnam officially licensed Starlink to provide telecommunications services and use frequencies in the domestic market, marking the first concrete step in deploying low-earth-orbit satellite internet services.
World media assessments say the licensing of Starlink provides a roadmap for scaling low-orbit satellite internet services in Vietnam on a large basis, placing Vietnam among regional countries that have accepted this new telecommunications infrastructure model. The move is also seen as reflecting how Vietnam is adjusting policy amid deeper integration into global economic and technological trends.
Starlink has previously been described as a “game changer” in several developing markets, helping expand connectivity where terrestrial infrastructure is limited and increasing price pressure on traditional operators. However, in Vietnam, the competitive dynamics may differ.
“Starlink will face high competitive pressure in Vietnam,” said Scott Minehane, CEO of Windsor Place Consulting, an expert affiliated with the ITU, USAID, and the World Bank. He noted that Vietnam’s existing fixed broadband (fiber) and mobile (5G) services offered by local operators are “very good” and reasonably priced, making it difficult for a newcomer to gain a clear advantage.
This raises a key question: what helped a market that was once monopolistic evolve into one where even a global provider would find it hard to compete?
The answer, according to the article, is not primarily technological but rooted in policy efforts to break down barriers and build a competitive telecommunications and internet market during the Đổi Mới era.
In 1997, as Vietnam planned to open Internet services, the General Department of Posts and Telecommunications decided to introduce competition from the start, preventing any single company from monopolizing the Internet. In a single day, Mr. Trực licensed four domestic companies: VNPT, FPT, NetNam, and Saigonnet. Although the initial scale was small, the entry of these players quickly created real competition in the Internet market.
Mr. Trực later recalled that the department opened domestic competition in Internet services and competition in telecommunications among Vietnamese firms before opening to foreign competition, aiming to ensure Vietnamese firms could withstand foreign entrants.
The article also highlights a turning point in the sector’s development: Mr. Trực said he never forgot seeing Viettel’s advertisement “178, your savings number!” at 8:15 p.m. on October 15, 2000, which he viewed as a breakthrough for a new phase of the telecommunications sector.
As new players entered—especially Viettel—the market changed in ways that the article links to improved outcomes for consumers and the strengthening of domestic firms. Competition lowered prices, improved service quality, and expanded infrastructure. More importantly, the domestic market became a testing ground where Vietnamese companies could refine their capabilities before competing more broadly on the global stage.
Scott Minehane said that on the international stage, Vietnamese telecoms offer world-class products at reasonable prices. The article cites Viettel as being among the world’s most valuable telecommunications brands according to Brand Finance.
It also points to independent performance measures such as the Speedtest Global Index. By the end of 2025, mobile broadband speeds in Vietnam had risen almost 300% to about 190 Mbps, ranking 14th in the world. Starlink’s mobile broadband speeds are described as typically ranging from 100–200 Mbps.
For fixed broadband, Vietnam’s fiber-focused approach is cited as placing it in the top ten worldwide, ranking ninth with speeds around 300 Mbps.
The article states that all three local operators have rolled out 5G rapidly: Viettel has reached about 90% coverage, while the other two operators are around 60%. It contrasts this with Australia, which the article says was an early 5G adopter in May 2019 but has not yet matched Viettel’s coverage levels.
In this context, the article argues that Starlink’s advantage is limited. Its speed is not clearly superior, and its prices are unlikely to be more competitive. As a result, Starlink is more likely to function as a supplement—targeting specific areas or serving as a backup connection—rather than reshaping the market structure.
Looking back, the article frames Starlink not as a story about a new technology but as a test of Vietnam’s telecommunications market. It suggests that while earlier fears centered on whether opening up would push domestic firms out, the balance has shifted: new players now must adapt in a market already “tempered” by years of competition.
Decades after Đổi Mới, telecommunications is described as one of the sectors most clearly showing the economy’s transformation. The article concludes that the advantages seen today—competition, affordable costs, and strong infrastructure—came from difficult choices, and that as the economy enters a new phase of development, similar questions are likely to recur. In that scenario, the next steps of Đổi Mới reforms—shifts in outlook and approach—will be important to ensure Vietnamese firms can adapt and compete globally.
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