Viettel arrives in the Dominican Republic: there will be four mobile operators

Vietnamese telecom Viettel announced an investment of US$560 million in the Dominican Republic to install its operation as the fourth mobile operator, according to its filing before the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

The investment plan

The outlay, approved by Viettel Global Investment JSC, will be executed in phases. The first two years will focus on deploying mobile connectivity networks — with 4G, 5G and future 6G technologies — fixed broadband and e-wallet services, with a strong bet on fiber optics. The third phase plans diversification toward cloud, cybersecurity and data centers.

What changes for the market

Today the Dominican market is divided among Claro, Altice and Viva, in that order of share, in a country of about 11.5 million people. The Dominican Telecommunications Institute (Indotel) opened the spectrum tender in bands such as 700 MHz, AWS, 2.3 GHz and 3.6 GHz, with incentives for operators with no presence in the country — exactly Viettel’s profile.

The key figure

US$560 million in investment and a fourth operator: more competition usually translates into better prices and more coverage for the Dominican user, although results will only be seen once the network starts operating.