Statistics from the Ministry of Information and Communications showed that last year military-run telecom group Viettel accounted for 37 per cent of the market, followed by Vinaphone and Mobifone, both with 29 per cent.

Other small providers, including EVN Telecom, Vietnammobile and S-Fone, accounted for only 5 per cent.

Industry experts said Vinaphone and Mobifone would compete for the second position behind Viettel this year, at a time when new mobile subscribers were forecast to boom.

The total number of subscribers registered last year, including both fixed and mobile phone, was 130.5 million, of which 90.4 per cent were mobile.

Le Hong Ha, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Association for Information Processing, said most countries in the world usually had three or four big telecom providers to hold their market share.

Ha said in theory, if the market had only two big operators, it would be less competitive.

If Viet Nam's telecom market retains at least three large operators, it is thought that customers' rights will be ensured.

The providers will try to retain their subscribers because it will be difficult to develop new ones.

In addition, they would increase average revenue per user (ARPU). Mobifone has had the largest ARPU in Viet Nam, followed by Vinaphone. Viettel ranked third despite having the largest market share.

The ministry said establishing a healthy, competitive market would be done through licence-granting policies and properly utilisation of telecommunication resources.

The ministry added it would also try to prevent the mass penetration of several telecom operators to avoid low quality in the market.

Market mechanisms will be applied including auctions, entrance examinations, licensing, technology and qualified labours to effectively use telecommunication resources.