Halotel mobile and internet services made debut in Tanzania

(VNF) - The Vietnam Military-run Telecommunications Group (Viettel) on October 15th launched its mobile and internet services in Tanzania (the tenth international market) under the brand name of Halotel.

Apart from 2G services, Viettel offers competitively-priced 3G connectivity to the most remote areas of this second biggest economy in East Africa, empowering not just urban but rural areas through connectivity, and offering mobile services as a basic commodity.

“Viettel’s vision is to provide every Tanzanian with a mobile phone and bring communication and information technology to every corner of life of the country. Our entry into Tanzania reflects our belief that when telecommunications services are accessible to everyone, and become a part of everyday life, they can be a driving force contributing to socio-economic development for the country as a whole”, said Major Nguyen Manh Hung, General Director of Viettel Group.

With an initial investment of USD736 million, after constructing and installing network infrastructure in just one year, Viettel’s operations have enabled services to all 26 provinces in the country, thus generating more than 2,000 direct and 20,000 indirect jobs.

With a strong infrastructure comprising 18,000 km of optical cable and more than 3,000 base transceivers, Viettel’s services can cover up to 81% Tanzania’s population, in which 1,500 villages are now connected for the first time.

In the next three year, the Group is expected to provide free Internet connection to 450 public schools, while providing optical cable to 150 committees, 150 public hospitals, 150 police stations and 65 post offices within the first half of the year.

Viettel’s new investment in Africa follows the rollout of services in Burundi and Cameroon through Lumitel and Nexttel earlier this year, and in Mozambique through Movitel in 2014./.

( VNF )