S-Fone was a mobile

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

operator in Vietnam that used the

CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...

technology. Founded on 1 July 2003 in

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

, Vietnam, S-Fone became the third network of Vietnam, breaking the duopoly of the two

VNPT Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (), Trade name, operating as its initialism VNPT, is a telecommunications company, owned by the Ministry of Finance (Vietnam), Ministry of Finance, and was once the national post office of Vietnam. Ac ...

operators. It is the

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

of S-Telecom (CDMA Mobile Phone Centre) (set up as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

between Saigon Postel Corp. (SPT) and Korea

SK Telecom SK Telecom Co., Ltd., abbreviated as SKT ( or ) is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and former film distributor and is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols. It leads the local market with 50.5 perce ...

). SK Telecom decided to leave the partnership in 2010. SPT has since then found it difficult to find a new partner, after a co-operation with Saigon Tel failed. As of the start of 2005, breaking the old rule of the calls fee from 10 second to 1 second (6+1)7, S-Fone has 1,500,000 to 1,800,000 subscribers, contributing 3% to the total market (after Mobifone with 41%, Viettel Mobile with 34% and Vinaphone with 20%.Mobifone Portal :: , New Value Added Service
/ref> Its market share (estimated based on revenues) fell to 0.1% by 2012 after suffering from a lack of capital, a small number of subscribers and low network quality. S-Fone has become highly indebted and has been unable to pay salaries for several months in its Hanoi branch in late 2012. S-Fone ceased its operation, closed its stores and website, and released its staff from their contracts in July 2012. Its operating license expired in 2016.

Achievements

{{Unreferenced section, date=April 2024 S-Fone is the first and biggest national cellular

mobile phone network A cellular network or mobile network is a telecommunications network where the link to and from end nodes is wireless and the network is distributed over land areas called ''cells'', each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver (suc ...

using

in Vietnam (followed by EVN Telecom and HT Mobile). On 9 October 2006, S-Fone officially launched

2000 1x EV-DO value added services for the first time in Vietnam: VOD/MOD (

Video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

, TV on demand,

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

on demand) and mobile Internet (enabling internet access for PCs and

laptop A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a Clamshell design, clamshell form factor (design), form factor with a flat-panel computer scree ...

s via S-Fone network) beginning in

, Hanoi,

Da Nang Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one of Vietnam's most important p ...

Hai Phong Haiphong or Hai Phong (, ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta. The municipality has an area of , consisting of 8 urban districts, 6 rural districts and 1 municipal city (sub-city). Two ...

and

Can Tho Can may refer to: Language * A verb for ability * A verb for probability Containers * A container used for food preservation in canning ** Aluminum can ** Drink can ** Steel and tin cans * Trash can * Oil can * Petrol can Music * Can (band ...

References

Telecommunications companies of Vietnam Telecommunications companies established in 2003 2003 establishments in Vietnam Vietnamese brands