On December 31, 2021, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) of Viet Nam issued Circular No. 29/2021/TT-BTTTT promulgating the national frequency plan for the 2300 – 2400 MHz band of the IMT mobile network. The announcement announced that Vietnam plans to deploy the 2300-2400 MHz radio frequency band in accordance with the International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-Advanced) standard and its successors.

The notification applies to organizations, enterprises and individuals who manufacture, import, trade and use radio equipment in Vietnam. 2300 – 2400 MHz will be split into 3 time division duplex spectrum resource blocks, i.e. A1, A2, A3, each with a width of 30 MHz.

The announcement is effective from February 15, 2022. It removes Article 1, Article 2.2 and the related 2300 – 2400 MHz provision in Circular No. 18/2020/TT-BTTTT dated 20 August 2020.

Click on this link to access the original announcement.

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) of Viet Nam has launched the following public consultation on the IMT mobile communication system:

• Draft Circular "Planning the 3560-4000 MHz Frequency Band for Vietnam's IMT Mobile Communication System". Click on this link to view the original public consultation, which is open until 30 August 2023;
• Draft Circular "Planned frequency bands 1920-1980 MHz, 2110-2170 MHz for IMT mobile communication systems in Vietnam. Click on this link to view the original public consultation, which is open until 4 September 2023;

Click on this link to see more information about the two public consultations above.

On October 23, 2023, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) of Vietnam solicited public comments on the draft notice on the "1710-1785 MHz and 1805-1880 MHz frequency bands planned for Vietnam's IMT mobile information system". According to the draft, the frequency band will be used for IMT Advance (LTE-A) and IMT-2020 (5G NR). Mobile communication systems such as GSM that have been deployed in this band can be used until September 15, 2024.

Click This link is available for the original public consultation which is open until 23 December 2023.

Following the consultation on the draft QCVN 117:2023/BTTTT on January 10, 2023, on December 29, 2023, the Ministry of Communications and Media (MIC) of Vietnam issued an announcement numbered 20/2023/TT-BTTTT to officially release the technical standard QCVN 117:2023/BTTTT for GSM/WCDMA/LTE terminal equipment and give certification requirements.

Some brief information about QCVN 117:2023/BTTTT is as follows:

• QCVN 117:2023/BTTTT is effective as of February 15, 2024;
• Between 15 February 2024 and 30 June 2024, importers/manufacturers have the option to apply for a Type Approval Certificate in accordance with QCVN 117:2020/BTTTT or QCVN 117:2023/BTTTT;
• As of July 1, 2024, importers/manufacturers must comply with QCVN 117:2023/BTTTT;
• The symbol/phrase/letter "VoLTE" must be marked on the mobile phone to comply with 43/2017/ND-CP and 18/2022/TT-BKHCN;
• All valid type approval certificates issued in accordance with QCVN 117:2020 can still be used during the validity period.

Click this link to view the announcement of 20/2023/TT-BTTTT, which contains the original QCVN 117:2023/BTTTT standard.

On January 17, 2024, the Ministry of Communications (MIC) of Vietnam issued Announcement No. 13/TB-BTTTT to organize the auction of radio frequency usage rights in the 2500-2600 MHz frequency band and 3700-3900 MHz frequency band. The auction of these two frequency bands will contribute to the promotion of 5G commercialization in Vietnam.

Within 30 days from the date of the MIC's public announcement of the auction organization plan, the organization that intends to participate in the auction of the right to use radio frequencies in the 2500-2600 MHz frequency band and the 3700-3900 MHz frequency band must apply to the Telecommunications Division of the MIC by post or online platform to confirm that it meets the conditions for participating in the auction. Applications submitted outside of the above deadlines will not be accepted and processed.

Click this link to view the original bulletin No. 13/TB-BTTTT.

On January 10, 2023, the Ministry of Communications of Vietnam launched a public consultation on the draft notice of the "National Technical Specifications (Standards) for Land Mobile User Equipment - Radio Access (2G/3G/4G LTE Terminals)". The standard number is QCVN 117:2023/BTTTT, which is applicable to GSM, W-CDMA, and e-UTRA mobile devices. The effective date of the standard is expected to be March 1, 2024, and the enforcement date is July 1, 2024.

The main changes compared to QCVN 117:2020/BTTTT are as follows:

• New LTE bands: 2300-2400 MHz (B40), 2500-2690 MHz (B41), 703 MHz – 733 MHz / 758 MHz – 788 MHz (B28);
• The handset must be able to operate on one of the LTE/4G bands specified in the standard;
• For non-mobile phone terminals, it is not mandatory to support 4G/LTE technology.

The international equivalents to this standard are ETSI EN 301 908-13 V13.2.1 and ETSI EN 301 908-1 V15.1.1.

Click this link to view the full text of the draft standard, click this link to view the original public consultation, which is open until 10 March 2023.

• New and updated standards:
  • QCVN 117:2023/BTTTT, which replaces QCVN 117:2020/BTTTT for WWAN devices
  • QCVN 55:2023/BTTTT, which replaces QCVN 55:2011/BTTTT for SRD
  • QCVN 132:2022/BTTTT on the security of tablets, laptops, desktop computers, TVs, set-top boxes, DECT phones;
  • QCVN 110:2023/BTTTT, which replaces QCVN 110:2017/BTTTT for E-UTRA base stations
  • QCVN 111:2023/BTTTT, which replaces QCVN 110:2017/BTTTT for E-UTRA repeaters
• Reinstatement of extreme test condition requirements for some of the QCVN standards that were suspended in accordance with Notice No. 10/2023/TT-BTTTT;
• QCVN 124:2021/BTTTT will not apply to automotive radars, and QCVN 18:2022/BTTTT will apply to automotive radars;
• Wireless chargers with HS codes 8504.40.19 and 8504.40.90 will no longer need to meet QCVN 55 and will instead be based on QCVN 96:2015/BTTTT;
• QCVN 47:2015/BTTTT will replace a large number of QCVN standards for maritime products that cannot be tested locally
• TVs using the same chassis can share test reports for the SDoC process for QCVN 63:2020/BTTTT;
• QCVN 128:2021/BTTTT for 5G NR base stations does not require testing under performance requirements and extreme conditions.

The draft circular is expected to take effect on 1 April 2024. Click link to view the original announcement.

This regulation applies to the following types of short-range radio equipment (SRDs):

a) Universal short-range radio equipment operating in the frequency range of 9 kHz to 25 MHz;

b) Magnetic field devices operating in the frequency range from 9 kHz to 30 MHz, including: radio frequency identification devices (RFID), devices using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, and electronic security system (EAS) devices operating in the LF and HF bands in the operating environment.

This regulation applies to products and goods with short-range radio equipment with HS codes as specified in Annex J of the standard.

All short-range radio equipment specified in this regulation must comply with Vietnam's regulations on frequency planning and channel allocation.

The above types of radio equipment operate in the 9 kHz to 30 MHz band under the following conditions:

• There is a radio output connection with a stand-alone antenna or an integrated antenna,
• all types of modulation are used,
• and fixed, mobile, and handheld devices are used.

Click this link to view the original text of Notice No. 17/2023/TT-BTTTT and the original text of QCVN 55:2023/BTTTT standard.