Vietnam’s mobile services revenue is forecast to grow at a 3.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2026 and 2031, as rising mobile data consumption and growing 5G adoption offset declining voice revenue, reveals GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

GlobalData’s Vietnam Mobile Services Forecast (Q3-2026) reveals that mobile voice service revenues will decline over the forecast period, in line with continued drop in mobile voice service average revenue per user (ARPU) levels, as operators offer free voice minutes with their bundled plans and users increasingly shift towards OTT-based voice communication platforms.

Mobile data service revenue, on the other hand, will increase at a CAGR of 8.3% between 2026 and 2031, supported by continued 4G usage, expanding 5G availability, growth in mobile internet subscriptions, and rising demand for video, social media, and other data-intensive services. The expansion of digital and video streaming services will encourage subscribers to opt for premium data plans, which will drive revenue growth.

Neha Mishra, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The average monthly data usage over mobile networks is forecast to increase from 5.5 GB in 2026 to 14.9 GB in 2031, in line with the surge in consumption of online video and social media content on mobile networks, on the back of 5G network expansions and data-centric mobile plans offered by MNOs.”

4G will remain the leading mobile technology in terms of subscriptions through 2031, supported by the widespread availability of 4G services on the back of continued LTE network expansions by MNOs. A key development in this transition is Vietnam’s planned 2G/3G shutdown by 2028, which will allow the 900 MHz/1800 MHz spectrum to be repurposed for 4G and 5G networks.

5G subscriptions are expected to account for 30.6% of total mobile subscriptions by 2031, up from 4.8% in 2026. This growth will be supported by continued 5G network rollouts by mobile network operators and government initiatives to expand nationwide coverage. For instance, the government of Vietnam’s digital infrastructure strategy targets 5G network coverage of 99% of the country’s population by 2030, up from about 90% coverage as of February 2026.

Viettel leads Vietnam’s mobile services market in terms of subscriber base in 2026 and is expected to retain its market lead throughout the forecast period. This leadership is underpinned by the operator’s extensive LTE footprint and sustained investments in both 4G and 5G network expansion. In 2025 alone, Viettel deployed 20,000 5G base stations (which is over 80% of all 5G base stations installed in Vietnam), pushing its total number of 5G base stations to 30,000 by 2025-end. The telco aims to deploy 20,000 additional base stations by 2026-end.

Mishra concludes: “As consumers increase their use of video streaming, social media, and other data-intensive applications, operators will focus on expanding 4G and 5G coverage, improving network capacity, and offering data-centric plans to grow mobile data revenue and offset declining voice ARPU. At the same time, the planned retirement of 2G and 3G networks, broader availability of 5G devices, and expansion of digital entertainment services will support customer engagement, encourage adoption of higher-value data plans, and increase mobile service revenue growth.”