Vietnam Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends And Forecast (2025 - 2030)

Vietnam Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Market Trends and Insights

Rapid expansion of eSIM-ready smartphones

Embedded-SIM compatibility is pushing Vietnam MVNO market penetration by relieving operators of physical card logistics and distribution costs. Brands such as Viettel and Vinaphone now activate eSIM profiles across most flagship devices released since 2017, while tourist-focused providers enable instant data bundles that range from USD 8 to USD 40 via QR-code scanning. ^{[1]Authentik Travel, “How to Use eSIM in Vietnam,” authentiktravel.com} Reduced onboarding friction encourages short-stay visitors and domestic urban users to trial virtual brands without retail store visits, giving agile MVNOs a cost advantage over infrastructure-heavy peers. 

Surge in digital-only banking and fintech partnerships

Fintech tie-ups convert MVNO subscriber bases into broader digital ecosystems. VPBank and MobiFone’s 2025 agreement established mobile point-of-sale solutions for public services and agent banking outlets in remote communes, supporting cash-light rural commerce while elevating average revenue per user.^{[2]VietnamPlus News Agency, “VPBank, MobiFone to Expand Digital Ecosystem,” vietnamplus.vn} Regulatory extensions of the Mobile-Money pilot until December 2025 allow small-value payments over telecom accounts, opening higher-margin payment flows that offset low prepaid tariffs. 

Government push to lift MVNO share to 5% by 2028

LOT 2023 obligates Viettel, VNPT, and MobiFone—designated dominant in July 2025—to publish reference offers and provide non-discriminatory wholesale terms, unlocking nationwide infrastructure for new entrants. ^{[3]Vietnam Government Portal, “Guidelines for Mobile Number Portability Implementation,” baochinhphu.vn}Clear legal definitions of reseller, service, and full MVNO modes cut licensing uncertainty and encourage diversified go-to-market approaches, fostering competition beyond the traditional three-operator structure. 

Mobile-number-portability regulation

MNP rules enacted in August 2025 require incumbents to finalize port-out requests within 24 hours once billing disputes are settled, enabling subscribers to retain numbers while changing providers. The policy levels the competitive field by permitting MVNOs to target users dissatisfied with network quality or tariff structures, accelerating brand switching and pressuring legacy pricing. 

Wholesale rate floor set by major MNOs

Despite legal obligations to lease capacity, Viettel, VNPT, and MobiFone retain bargaining power that allows premium wholesale tariffs, compressing MVNO margins and discouraging deep discount strategies. Experience in the European Union shows that explicit cost-based benchmarks may be necessary once MVNO penetration approaches 5%, yet Vietnam’s framework still relies on commercial negotiation, prolonging price rigidity. 

Slow 5G spectrum allocation timeline

Only three auctions have been completed, with Viettel acquiring 700 MHz and MobiFone the 3.8 GHz band by mid-2025. Limited mid-band capacity inflates leasing fees and curtails service differentiation for MVNOs aspiring to target enterprise IoT or ultra-high-speed consumer tiers. The Ministry of Information and Communications has mandated 20,000 additional 5G base stations by end-2025, but spectrum scarcity may delay nationwide premium wholesale products. 

Segment Analysis

By Deployment Model: Cloud Infrastructure Enables Asset-Light Expansion

Cloud-hosted platforms controlled 66.40% of the Vietnam MVNO market in 2024. The architecture reduces capital intensity, accelerates service launches, and aligns with the government’s Digital Infrastructure Plan, which promotes green data centers and near-universal 5G coverage by 2030. Viettel’s ongoing USD 1 billion data-center build in Ha Noi will supply wholesale compute and storage for virtual operators, letting full MVNOs orchestrate policy control, billing, and analytics without laying fiber or towers. On-premise options hold niche appeal for government and finance clients that mandate data-residency; however, incremental security features now available in Vietnamese cloud zones are quickly narrowing that gap. 

The asset-light nature of cloud deployment lowers break-even subscriber thresholds and shortens go-to-market cycles, particularly valuable in a landscape where the Vietnam MVNO market remains far below saturation. As wholesale 5G APIs become accessible, cloud-native MVNOs can slice bandwidth by latency or throughput and price micro-segments dynamically. With a forecast 9.54% CAGR through 2030, cloud will gradually raise its share, but legacy on-premise estates will still anchor mission-critical public-safety and financial messaging traffic. 

By Operational Mode: Full MVNOs Capture Value Chain Control

In 2024, reseller and light configurations together represented 64.35% of active brands, yet full MVNO operations are projected to expand at 15.48% CAGR. The Vietnam MVNO market size for full-service players is still modest, but end-to-end ownership of core network elements enables bespoke pricing, network selection, and self-defined quality-of-service tiers. Regulatory clarity from LOT 2023 now details interconnection, numbering, and lawful-intercept rules, cutting red tape for ambitious entrants. 

As wholesale 5G and edge-compute mature, new full MVNOs plan to wrap connectivity into SaaS portfolios for manufacturing, logistics, and tele-health. The capability to steer traffic among multiple host networks also cushions against localized outages. Still, complexity and higher initial costs mean simpler reseller models will persist in discount voice niches, leaving a bifurcated competitive field where operational sophistication matches customer value curves. 

By Subscriber Type: IoT Upswings Complement Consumer Base

Consumers dominate with 87.89% of SIMs, underpinning a prepaid culture driven by competitive price-per-gigabyte bundles. Yet the Vietnam MVNO market share of IoT devices is projected to rise sharply, sustained by a 30.26% CAGR as factories adopt Industry 4.0 standards and cities deploy smart-lighting, traffic, and metering systems. Enterprises—including logistics and field services—prioritize consistent latency plus centralized fleet management dashboards, leading several MVNO hopefuls to partner with cloud hyperscalers for bundled analytics. 

Regulatory encouragement of e-government services also turbocharges machine-type subscriptions for CCTV backhaul and public-asset monitoring. Although ARPU per IoT line remains below USD 1, volume scalability and churn-resilient contracts enhance predictability. Cross-selling between consumer family plans and small business IoT kits provides another growth lever as smartphone penetration nears saturation.

By Application: M2M Momentum Challenges Discount Supremacy

Discount prepaid bundles held 49.12% revenue share in 2024 due to persistent price sensitivity among students and gig-economy workers. However, cellular M2M lines—tracking everything from cold-chain containers to delivery bikes—are racing ahead with a 28.36% annual uptick, helping providers diversify away from voice dependence. Vietnam’s program to switch off 2G by September 2026 will force several million legacy devices to migrate upward, fueling fresh demand for low-data IoT plans compatible with 4G NB-IoT bearers.  

Business applications in healthcare and education are also emerging, aided by 5G mini-cores hosted inside hospitals or campuses. While margins on discount SIMs face deflation, specialized M2M contracts often span three to five years, adding resilience to cash flows and supporting higher EBITDA multiples for MVNOs with vertical know-how. 

By Network Technology: 5G and Satellite Complement 4G Footprint

4G/LTE still accounts for 76.52% of active lines, anchoring nationwide coverage and affordable device ecosystems. Yet the Vietnam MVNO market size for 5G is expanding at 32.50% CAGR, driven by mandated deployment of 20,000 new base stations by December 2025. Ultra-reliable low-latency services target smart-factory and AR/VR entertainment use cases, segments in which MVNOs can differentiate via quality-tiered plans. 

Separately, SpaceX’s Starlink pilot, authorized for up to 600,000 Vietnamese users across five years, introduces non-terrestrial networks into mainstream connectivity and opens hybrid packages blending satellite backhaul with terrestrial roaming. Such arrangements can reach fishing fleets and mountain communes outside 4G signal, a strategic niche where early-mover MVNOs may secure loyal subscriber bases. 

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Distribution Channel: Digital-First Wins Scale, Stores Retain Trust

Online activation represented 52.64% of new connections in 2024, aided by omnipresent e-commerce habits cultivated during the pandemic. The Vietnam MVNO market is especially suited to app-based onboarding as eKYC regulations allow remote identity verification via National ID chips. eSIM QR codes delivered through social-commerce channels remove the last physical hurdle, letting MVNOs operate with near-zero retail estates. 

Nevertheless, rural subscribers and elders continue to value face-to-face assistance for top-ups and handset troubleshooting. Strategic partnerships with convenience chains provide cost-efficient touchpoints, while flagship sub-brand kiosks inside electronics retailers showcase devices and bundled content, harmonizing trust with digital convenience. The hybrid blueprint is expected to sustain a 7.95% CAGR for digital channels even as overall penetration rises. 

Geography Analysis

Urban municipalities hold the densest traffic and premium ARPU, with Da Nang recording median mobile broadband speeds of 272.97 Mbps in April 2025, surpassing the national mean of 77.19 Mbps. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City together concentrate more than 45% of the nation’s 5G base stations, providing fertile ground for video-streaming and cloud-gaming-centric MVNO propositions. Suburban districts surrounding these hubs have also benefited from tower-sharing mandates, lowering expansion capex for virtual entrants. 

In contrast, only 58% of Vietnam’s landmass enjoys cellular coverage even though population coverage stands at 99.8%, leaving swathes of mountainous north-central provinces underserved. The planned 2G sunset will nudge roughly 15 million rural feature-phone users toward affordable 4G bundles, a transition MVNOs can shepherd via refurbished handset campaigns and community agents. Government funding streams tied to the Universal Service Fund subsidize tower builds in border and island districts, extending wholesale footprints for voice and narrowband IoT. 

Cross-border tourist flows from China, Laos, and Cambodia are rebounding, creating demand for short-term roaming solutions that avoid punitive out-of-bundle charges. MVNOs that pre-procure multi-IMSI profiles and offer Chinese-language chat support are well positioned to capture spending spikes around national holidays. Meanwhile, satellite-terrestrial hybrids present a compelling proposition for shipping lanes in the South China Sea, where connectivity blackspots have persisted despite coastal 4G buildouts. Collectively, these geographic dynamics indicate the Vietnam MVNO market will progress from a metro-centric phase to a truly nationwide footprint by the decade’s end.