Vietnam has raised VND 3.23 trillion ($124 million) by auctioning three blocks of 2 x 5 MHz spectrum in the 900 MHz band, with winning bids landing only slightly above the reserve price.

The Ministry of Science and Technology offered the blocks at a reserve price of VND 1.056 trillion ($40.6 million) each. VNPT won block C-3 (900-905/945-950 MHz) with a bid of VND 1.079 trillion. Viettel took block C-4 (905-910/950-955 MHz) for VND 1.077 trillion, and Vietnamobile secured block C-5 (910-915/955-960 MHz), also for VND 1.077 trillion. Each licence runs for 15 years.

The timing matters. The auction closed just before Vietnam switched off 2G service in the 900 MHz band on 15 September. From the following day, the band is reserved exclusively for IMT-2000 (3G), IMT-Advanced (4G) and IMT-2020 (5G) technologies. Services based on IMT-2000 may continue until 14 September 2028 — two years before the 3G network itself shuts down. The 2G shutdown was stipulated in a circular published by the ministry on 31 May 2026.

Winners and losers

Mobifone, one of the country's big three mobile operators alongside Viettel and VNPT, appears to be the biggest loser. It previously held 900 MHz frequencies but failed to win any in the auction. Viettel and VNPT both saw their holdings shrink to a conventional 2 x 5 MHz, although their previous allocations — 2 x 8.2 MHz for Viettel and 2 x 8.4 MHz for VNPT — were of arguably limited value because of their odd sizes.

Vietnamobile, by contrast, looks like a net winner. The operator added 2 x 5 MHz to the 2 x 10 MHz it already held in the band. Unusually for Vietnam, it is privately owned: Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison holds a 49 per cent stake through a local subsidiary, with privately owned Hanoi Telecom holding 50 per cent. The country's largest operators are all owned by various arms of the state.

Even after the award, though, Vietnamobile remains subscale. Its total holdings come to 45 MHz, comprising the 900 MHz blocks plus 2 x 7.5 MHz in the 2100 MHz band. Market leader Viettel holds over 200 MHz, and both VNPT and Mobifone control considerably more than Vietnamobile, whose future strategy is unclear.

Spectrum left on the table

The award is not as complete as the regulatory framework suggests. The ministry's circular specified 890-915 MHz and 935-960 MHz — 2 x 25 MHz in total, divided into five 2 x 5 MHz blocks numbered C1 through C5. Only C3-C5 went under the hammer, and no explanation was given for the omission of C1 and C2.

Vietnam's entire IMT allocation in the band is larger still: 2 x 35 MHz spanning 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz. The "missing" 2 x 10 MHz is licensed to Vietnamobile at 880-890 MHz and 925-935 MHz, blocks the circular did not cover, again without explanation.

Sixth successful auction since 2023

Vietnam has been unusually active in spectrum management recently. Before March 2023, the country had released no new IMT frequencies for a decade. The 900 MHz contest is its sixth successful auction since early 2023, alongside at least two failed ones.

A 700 MHz auction planned for February 2025 collapsed when rules requiring at least two bidders left only one operator at the table. After the rule was relaxed, VNPT and Viettel each won 2 x 10 MHz in the band in September and May 2025 respectively — though another 2 x 10 MHz of desirable 700 MHz spectrum remains unsold. The country's first post-drought auction, for 2.3 GHz spectrum in June 2023, also attracted no bidders.

Elsewhere, the consolidation of Vietnam's smaller operators continues. Gmobile, whose only spectrum was 2 x 15 MHz in the 1800 MHz band, merged into the larger Mobifone in early 2025. Gmobile had been under the management of the Ministry of Public Security, which subsequently took over management of Mobifone too.

For Hutchison, the Vietnamobile stake sits within a broader retreat from selected telecoms assets. The conglomerate reportedly dropped plans for a global listing of its telecoms assets this year in favour of disposals, selling its Macau operator in January 2026 and exiting the UK in July with the sale of its 49 per cent stake in VodafoneThree.

What comes next

Vietnam's next auction could target several bands: leftover frequencies in 700 MHz and 900 MHz, the 2.3-2.4 GHz spectrum that failed to sell in 2023, or the remaining 200 MHz of C-band spectrum (3.6-3.7 GHz and 3.9-4.0 GHz).

Further ahead, a second circular published by the ministry on 31 May 2026 allocates 470-606 MHz to digital terrestrial TV and permits DTT licences in the 600 MHz band (606-694 MHz) only up to the end of 2028. Once the ministry confirms in writing that mobile communications can begin in the 600 MHz band, all DTT units still using it must convert to other bands within six months. That circular took effect on 16 July 2026, setting a clear regulatory runway for eventual 5G use of the 600 MHz band.