Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/774-siemens-to-connect-remote-vietnamese-villages

SIEMENS TO CONNECT REMOTE VIETNAMESE VILLAGES

November 16, 2005

The Siemens Communications Group has captured a major order for mobile communication technology from Vietnamese network operator Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Corp. (VNPT). This is the largest telecommunications project awarded to date by the state-owned operator, which will connect around 400 villages in remote regions of Vietnam to the fixed network over the next 10 months using mobile communication technology.

As a result of the project, 10 provinces separated by a distance of more than 1,000 km are to gain full access to VNPT's modern telecommunications network, which Siemens will equip with a complete wireless local loop system. This will be handed over to the operator ready for use in summer 2006 once the mobile switching centers, GSM base stations and microwave systems have been installed.

Delivering a WLL system that connects individual homes in inaccessible rural locations to the fixed network using a wireless link overcomes the difficulty of laying cable in the mountainous and jungle-clad terrain typical of the ten provinces concerned. Conditions that had previously kept village residents isolated from the telephone network.

"We are very proud to have won this order, which will make a significant difference to large sections of the population of Vietnam," said Christoph Caselitz, president, mobile networks at Siemens Communications. "The telecommunications and IT sector in Vietnam has been developing rapidly in recent years, and we welcome this opportunity to keep the ball rolling with our own technology."