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Viet Nam boasts telecom bonanza in Laos
Laos' leading mobile operator Star Telecom said it posted a revenue of US$110 million last year, an increase of 80 per cent over 2010.
The company, a joint venture between Laos Asia Telecom and Viet Nam's Viettel Group, attracted 1.6 million subscribers to its Unitel mobile network last year, up 42 per cent year on year.
Star Telecom said it built an additional of 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 per cent of the country.
According to Star Telecom's vice director Nguyen Thanh Sang, the company last year also completed the backbone cable connecting Viet Nam – 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 Viet Nam'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.
The group provides mobiphone services under the "Viettel", "Metfone," and "Unitel" brands to 63 million subscribers across 6 countries including Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos, Haiti, Mozambique and Peru.
The group, which began providing telecom services in 2004, employs over 58,000 people all over the world.
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