Government of Vietnam, Ericsson forge strategic Industry 4.0 partnership

An estimated 1 in 10 mobile phones are built in Vietnam and the country’s manufacturing sector continues to grow rapidly. To capture the full value of connectivity, Ericsson and the Vietnamese government have now forged a strategic partnership around Industry 4.0 activities.

According to the Brookings Institute, Vietnam exported USD 45 billion worth of mobile phones that were manufactured in the country during 2017. Between 2014 and 2016, the country also added nearly 1.5 million manufacturing jobs. Vietnam’s manufacturing sector is experiencing an industrial revolution of its own but to capture the next wave of growth, enabled by 5G and IoT, Ericsson is supporting the Government of Vietnam to help accelerate the adoption of Industry 4.0.

At a ceremony held at Ericsson’s headquarters on May 28, 2019, Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and a delegation of Vietnam Government dignitaries met with Ericsson President and CEO, Börje Ekholm and Denis Brunetti, Head of Ericsson Vietnam and Myanmar to sign a series of strategic agreements to expand Industry 4.0 in Vietnam.

The ‘Industry 4.0 & IoT Innovation Cooperation Agreement’ between Ericsson and the state- owned, VNPT Group – Vietnam’s leading communications service provider– will expand IoT capabilities across the operator’s mobile network by leveraging Ericsson’s IoT cellular capability and VNPT’s IoT ecosystem. These capabilities will make it possible to provide new digital services to VNPT’s consumer and enterprise customers as well as support e-Government initiatives.

The agreement is highly strategic for both entities and aims to accelerate the adoption of Industry 4.0 in Vietnam, digitally transforming industries including manufacturing, agriculture, transport and energy. The agreement also supports the government’s vision of leveraging science, technology and innovation to drive the next wave of socioeconomic development in the country.

Pham Duc Long, CEO of VNPT Group, says: “The joint initiative between VNPT and Ericsson supports the group’s ambition of driving smart city and Industry 4.0 initiatives across Vietnam. We are creating additional value for our consumer and enterprise customers now through advanced digital services enabled by 4G NB-IoT for less demanding Massive IoT use cases, and then 5G for more advanced use cases with much higher data volumes and extreme low-latency requirements in the very near future.”

Denis Brunetti, Head of Ericsson Vietnam and Myanmar, says: “VNPT Group and Ericsson are seeking to build an innovation platform and foundation for Industry 4.0 through this partnership. By providing our 4G NB-IoT capabilities as well as leveraging our recently launched ‘IoT Innovation Hub’ in Vietnam, we are looking to fuel and drive the IoT ecosystem in Vietnam and create momentum towards 5G.”

Through its partnership with the Economic Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ericsson is demonstrating the company’s commitment and strategic alignment with the Vietnam’s vision of accelerating the adoption of Industry 4.0 across all industries and driving the next wave of socioeconomic development in the years to come.

In April 2019, Ericsson and Vietnam’s Ministry of Science & Technology, launched the country’s first IoT innovation hub that supports start-ups and promotes entrepreneurship. It also serves as a learning and education platform as well as a research and development platform focusing on accelerating Vietnam’s advancement in IoT.