Viettel venture reaps bonanza in Lao market

VIENTIANE,23.01.2012(KPL)- Laos ‘ leading mobile operator Star Telecom said it posted a revenue of 110 million USD last year, an increase of 80 percent over 2010. The company, a joint venture between Laos Asia Telecom and Vietnam ‘s Viettel Group, attracted 1.6 million new subscribers to its Unitel mobile network last year, up 42 percent year on year. Star Telecom said it built additional 500 BTSs (Base Transceiver Stations) last year, bringing its total BTSs to 2,400, one of the largest mobile operators in Laos in term of BTSs. Over 3,500 km of optical cabling was installed last year, extending the total optical cable network in Laos to 15,000 km and covering 80 percent of the country. According to Star Telecom’s deputy director Nguyen Thanh Sang, the company last year also completed the backbone cable connecting Vietnam – Laos – Cambodia with a total transmission capacity of 400Gb/s. The backbone cable uses DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing), one of the world’s most advanced transmission technologies, said Sang, who is representing Viettel Group in the joint venture. The company last year also finalised the construction of ten international telecom gateways in Laos , ensuring seamless connection between Laos and the world. Viettel Group, owned by Vietnam ‘s Ministry of Defence, is one of the fastest growing mobile operators in the world, running 56,000 BTSs and 200,000 km of fibre optic cable around the world.