Go ahead for Viettel's Mozambique venture

HA NOI — Movitel, a joint venture between the Vietnamese military-run Telecommunication Group (Viettel) and Mozambique's SPI Invespar Company, has received an investment licence, according to Viettel Group.

Movitel plans to invest around US$400 million to develop 4,500 2G base transceiver stations (BTS) and 1,200 3G BTS infrastructure to ensure nationwide coverage, including remote and mountainous areas, over a five-year period after receiving the $28.2 million bidding package.

The company aims to become one of the largest telecom firms in the local market after one year of operation. Mozambique is the fourth foreign country in which Viettel has invested, after Cambodia, Laos and Haiti.

CMC opens branch office in central region

DA NANG — CMC Telecommunication Infrastructure (CMC TI) has inaugurated its branch in the central city of Da Nang, marking its investment in the country's central region.

CMC TI chosed Song Thu Cable Television Company (ARICO) which has optic cable system coverage throughout the city to act as a partner to provide internet broadband services.

Services are expected to begin this quarter. CMC TI said it planned to invest several million dollars in developing optic-fibre cabling in all the country's major localities as well as upgrading national and international broadband services.

FPT offers third-level domain registration

HA NOI — FPT Telecom International Co has launched a new third-level domain registration service offering "dot VN" domains.

The third-level domain previously had to use at least three letters, now customers can adopt one or two letters at lower prices.

Data security firm warns of disasters

HA NOI — Small- and medium-sized enterprises are ill-prepared for data loss due to disasters, says Suzie Tan, country director for data security firm Symantec.

According to the results of Symantec's Small- and Mid-sized Business Disaster Preparedness Survey for 2011, released yesterday, small businesses were at risk and had yet to make disaster preparedness a priority.

Tan pointed to recent flooding in the central region, as well as ongoing risks of fire or power failures that can result in significant business disruptions. Businesses also needed to consider more risks such as human error and IT system failures, she said.

Tan recommended that firms not wait until after a disaster to think about protecting their information, and urged businesses to implement appropriate security and backup solutions to protect important data.

Source: vnagency.com.vn