Subscriber Accounts with Viettel or Mobifone for Expats ??

I think you have to have the account linked to a business, thats what I did when I owned a business. Maybe things have changed since then.

5 years ago, I went to Mobiphone to get my subscriber account, it took several tries and a couple of calls to the Hanoi office.  But they eventually gave me one; I had to put up a 3.5 million Dongs deposit though.

If you really want such an account, you should give Mobiphone a shot, since they are privately-owned.  Viettel is owned by the Vietnamese Army, they are a bit harder to deal with. 

With Mobiphone, I have since gotten my deposit back and my account is still in working orders.

Wild_1 wrote:

5 years ago, I went to Mobiphone to get my subscriber account, it took several tries and a couple of calls to the Hanoi office.  But they eventually gave me one; I had to put up a 3.5 million Dongs deposit though.

If you really want such an account, you should give Mobiphone a shot, since they are privately-owned.  Viettel is owned by the Vietnamese Army, they are a bit harder to deal with. 

With Mobiphone, I have since gotten my deposit back and my account is still in working orders.

You're right in that Viettel is owned and operated by the Ministry of Defense (I suppose you can say Army although that would marginalized the Navy, Air Force, Marine Police, and Border Defense), but you're off on the privately-owned part for MobiFone.  (It's "MobiFone" spelled with an F, although interesting is that there is no "F" in the Vietnamese alphabet). 

MobiFone is actually owned by the state-owned ....wanna guess?

Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT).

They also own Vinaphone as well.  So together, the three largest telecom firms are all government-runned and have the entire monopoly.  With the market shares as follows:
Mobifone with 41%
Viettel Mobile with 34%
Vinaphone with 20%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MobiFone

MobiFone is the first and currently third largest telecommunications provider in Vietnam.[2] It is wholly owned by the state-owned VNPT.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VNPT

I have some foreigner friends and they have no trouble getting subscriber accounts with Viettel, Vinaphone or Mobifone. Do you have any Vietnamese friends? If you have, so you may ask them to help, it'd be easier

Thanks for the feedback everyone.  I'm going to give Mobifone a try and if no luck there then I'll have my wife talk with someone at their head office.  Surely there's got to be a way to do this.

THD,

You are a very hard man to please, aren't you?  Interesting data on the Vietnamese telecom industry, nonetheless.  However, if everyone is as critical as you, about the structure of these Vietnamese companies, Vietnam will be in very deep troubles with the WTO, for the majority if its leading companies are formed as such, or by retired senior Party members.

As for the Vietnamese military structures, yes, the People's Army encompasses all branches of service (as we know them in the States), and the Border Defense Force (our Custom and Border Patrol combined).  Anyhow, they just refer to them as the Army, or Quan Doi Nhan Dan.  Please don't ask me why...  My best guess is Vietnam just like it like that.

Also, thanks for the correction on the spelling of Mobifone.  I must have been home too long, or cared too little about these Vietnamese brands...

AmericanEnglishVN,

Finally, the wife and her friends are you better bets.  Although, if you are in Saigon and in this day and age, I think you might be able to pull it off yourself.  Good luck.

Wild_1 wrote:

THD,

You are a very hard man to please, aren't you?  Interesting data on the Vietnamese telecom industry, nonetheless.  However, if everyone is as critical as you, about the structure of these Vietnamese companies, Vietnam will be in very deep troubles with the WTO, for the majority if its leading companies are formed as such, or by retired senior Party members.

As for the Vietnamese military structures, yes, the People's Army encompasses all branches of service (as we know them in the States), and the Border Defense Force (our Custom and Border Patrol combined).  Anyhow, they just refer to them as the Army, or Quan Doi Nhan Dan.  Please don't ask me why...  My best guess is Vietnam just like it like that

As Also, thanks for the correction on the spelling of Mobifone.  I must have been home too long, or cared too little about these Vietnamese brands...

AmericaEnglishVN,

Finally, the wife and her friends are you better bets.  Although, if you are in Saigon and in this day and age, I think you might be able to pull it off.  Good luck.

I'm all for truth, justice and the American way.  In searching for facts, I learn new things.  And I actually did not know that the People's Army is one branch all encompassing versus the 4 DoD branches that are separate in the USA.

Wild_1 wrote:

THD,

You are a very hard man to please, aren't you?

Haha. I trust this is not a question?!?

THD wrote:

I'm all for truth, justice and the American way.

  Wanna go to Yemen and tell them that? 

And I actually did not know that the People's Army is one branch all encompassing

This is how militias are formed and Number One, or the Great One, is crowned.   

In the more than 5 years that I spent in Vietnam, continuously, I saw 1 "tugboat" and no aircraft (military and flying ones, that is).  So, this MIGHT be one of the reasons.

aibiet wrote:

Haha. I trust this is not a question?!?

You must be good friends with Anniest, yeah?

Unfortunately, I do not know who is Anniest.

You guys are both informative and entertaining !