In Vietnam, public PHS service has been provided in two cities Hanoi and Ho-Chi-Minh since 2003. PHS MoU Group conducted a survey on the status of such service and this is the report of that.

   Vietnam Post & Telecommunications (VNPT) has been providing the PHS service in two cities Hanoi, capital city as well as Ho-Chi-Minh, economic center of Vietnam since 2003 and its bland name is "CityPhone". The network is supplied by UTStarcom.

Hanoi PT's Office (the PHS CS is at the left edge of its roof) Approximately 1,000 PHS CSs are installed in Hanoi and its subscribers are approximately 80,000 at present. On the other hand, there are approximately 2,000 CSs and over 120,000 subscribers in Ho-Chi-Minh.	The Street of Ho-Chi-Minh City and the PHS CS (upper left) Vietnamese buildings are traditionally long and narrow and accordingly, there's a rumor that enough indoor service area is not covered because the PHS radio wave is difficult to reach the inner part of the room from the window, however, it's believed that the communication quality within the outdoor service area would almost be satisfactory.
The Street of Ho-Chi-Minh City and the PHS CS (upper left) As for the service contents, Internet access and SMS are being provided in addition to the voice communication. 64kPIAFS is available for Internet access, however, most of the users are still utilizing voice communication and SMS.	Various PHS Handsets (available in Hanoi) In Vietnam, the PHS's tariff is set lower than the GSM and CDMA so that it's becoming popular among young peoples mainly though its service area is still restricted in the central district of Hanoi and Ho-Chi-Minh. SIM card (PIM=Personal Information Manager) applicable type handset became available in 2005 and further, dual-mode PHS/GSM handset is also contributing to overcome the PHS's narrow service area.
Dual-Mode PHS/GSM Handset Poster	Applicants lined up for the PHS Subscription
Brand-new PHS User	Mr. Sugiura, PHS MoU Group Secretary General (left) talked with Mr. Hung, VNPT Vice President in November 2005

    PHS MoU Group visited Mr. Hung, VNPT Vice President in November 2005 to exchange information on the status of the PHS service in Vietnam and its future development. VNPT is under the process of the PHS expansion plan and trying to enhance its service by multiplying vendors.

    It's expected that an introduction of the PHS into other South East Asian countries will be promoted by its further diffusion in China, Thailand and Vietnam