(CPV) - On May 15, at the capital city of Maputo, Mozambique, Vietnam 's Military Telecom Corporation (Viettel) announced the official launch of Movitel – the group’s first mobile network in Africa.

Viettel has built 12,600 kilometers of fiber optic cable and 1,800 mobile stations in Mozambique, |representing 70% of total nation’s fiber optic cable network and 50% of the country’s mobile stations.

The system has helped triple the density of Mozambique’s telecom infrastructure (increasing the length of fiber optic cable network and number of mobile stations per one million inhabitants in Mozambique by 2-3 times), making it one of the world’s fastest growing telecommunications networks and placing the country among the top three nations in Sub-Saharan Africa in terms of fiber optic cable systems.

Photo: Le Mai

Viettel’s Movitel network is the first mobile network operator in Mozambique to have doubled the network coverage level committed in its proposal for the license.

In addition to expanding the network, Viettel also recruits one to two local people to provide services door-to-door in their own localities.

“The Mozambican Government highly appreciates Viettel’s investment and commitment to social responsibility. For the first time, many areas in my nation have a chance to access telecom services, thus contributing to the implementation of Mozambique’s socio-economic development and poverty reduction strategy,” said Mozambican President, Mr Armano Emilio Guebuza.

At the launching ceremony, Viettel also announced its project of connecting and providing free Internet for 4,200 schools as part of the group’s pledge to the Mozambican Government. At present, more than 500 schools have been connected thanks to this project.

“Currently, Viettel has successfully developed and popularized telecom services in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Haiti, Mozambique and Peru. After Mozambique, the group is seeking for new opportunities to expand its investment in other African countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Cameroon”, said Mr Nguyen Duy Tho, Director of the Viettel International Investment Joint Stock Company/.