Vietnam's booming economy and rapidly growing youth population with a high disposable income  has been driving significant consumer demand for mobile services in this Southeast Asian country. In early 2007, the mobile phone penetration rate in the Vietnam market was only 18.5%, however subscribers are growing rapidly - with about 800,000 new mobile users being added each month.

Mobile content is important in Vietnam, but is still in its embryonic stages and represents a excellent ground floor opportunity for mobile content developers and aggregators.  

This research report addresses the following topics and key metrics of the mobile services market in Vietnam:

• Subscriber growth and forecast to 2012
  
• Importance of local and international mobile data content
  
• Price points for mobile VAS services by genre (ringtones, wallpaper, etc.)
  
• Leading Mobile portals in Vietnam
  
• ARPUs in Vietnam 
  
• Market drivers and inhibitors
  
• Commercial and social issues relating to mobile content market.

Key Questions Answered
Our research addresses a number of essential topics to help you be successful:

• How big is the market for mobile voice and VAS data services in Vietnam?
  
• How many mobile subscribers will there be in 2012?
  
• What opportunities are there in the mobile content market?
  
• What are the key mobile technology trends being adopted in Vietnam?
  
• Which mobile data applications are the most popular in Vietnam?
  
• How do consumers learn of and purchase mobile content and applications?
  
• What are the most popular ringtones in Vietnam?
  

APRG’s research on the Vietnam mobile market examine how service providers, network operators, and content providers are positioning themselves to compete in Vietnam’s content market. This report reviews opportunities, strengths, weaknesses and threats and future direction of this wireless market of over 81 million people. 

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction
Report Objectives
Forecast Assumptions

2. Executive Summary and Market Forecast
Current Situation
Market Share of Mobile Operators
Market Forecast
Mobile Penetration
Mobile Subscriber Forecast
ARPU Achievements and Outlook
Wireless Content Forecast

3. Economic Outlook
Economic Environment
Consumer Consumption

4. Regulatory and Pricing
Foreign Direct Investment in the telecoms Sector
Which foreign Operators are targeting Vietnam
Mobile Tariffs

5. Mobile Service Providers
VNPT
VMS - MobiFone
VinaPhone
VNPT’s i-PAS Service
Viettel
Saigon Postel (SPT) S-Fone Service

6. Mobile VAS Application Market
The Internet Landscape
Key Internet Service Providers
Mobile VAS Portals
Mobile Data Revenue Growth
Mobile Data Revenue Percentage
Content Portals in Vietnam
Where Vietnamese Mobile Users get their content
How Vietnamese Mobile Users learn of new mobile content and applications
VAS Content Costs
Mobile VAS Content – Desires and Frequency of Use
Importance of Viral Marketing for New Mobile Content
3G Outlook


7. Final Notes
Methodology
Notices

Table of Figures:

Figure 1. Market Share – Vietnam’s Mobile Operators
Figure 2. Vietnam’s Mobile Subscribers 2003 – 2011F
Figure 3. Year on Year Percentage Growth Mobile Subscribers
Figure 4. Mobile Penetration 2003 – 2011F
Figure 5. Mobile Subscribers as Percentage of Overall Telephone Subscribers
Figure 6. Percentage of Prepaid vs. Postpaid Subscribers
Figure 7. Blended ARPU in Vietnam – Historical and Projected
Figure 8. Mobile Data Revenue Forecast to 2011F
Figure 9. Population Demographics
Figure 10. Economic Growth
Figure 11. Internet Penetration 2000 – 2010F
Figure 12. Growth in Mobile Data Revenue 2005 – 2011F
Figure 13. Mobile Data Revenue as Percentage of Overall Revenue
Figure 14. Purchase Sources of Mobile Data Content
Figure 15. VAS Content Costs by Genre in Vietnam
Figure 16. Top 15 Ringtone Downloads in Vietnam
Figure 17. Vietnam’s Ringtone Purchase Demographics
Figure 18. Consumer Survey: Which VAS service do you use most frequently?
Figure 19. Consumer Survey: How frequently do you purchase ringtones, logos or graphics?
Figure 20. Consumer Survey: How frequently do you send pictures taken with your camera phone?
Figure 21. Consumer Survey: Which of the following music genres do you find most appealing for purchase?
Figure 22. Consumer Survey: Which type of SMS news content are you most interested in and willing to pay for?
Figure 23. How Vietnamese Consumers Learn of New VAS Content