State-owned Vietnamese operator Viettel unveiled a widescale company rebrand designed to transform its image and push itself as a provider of digital services beyond standard telecoms.

The operator released details of its new strategy at an event earlier today (7 January), which will see it reposition to promote products deemed key for domestic digital society initiatives.

Its move follows the creation of six business strands in 2020 focused on areas outside traditional communications comprising: digital infrastructure; digital solutions; content services; finance; cyber​​security; and the enterprise sector.

In a statement, Viettel said it aimed to pioneer the creation of a digital society in Vietnam after already “completing the mission of universalising telecommunications services”.

Explaining the reason for the rebrand, it noted: “Customers perceive Viettel as a kind, reliable, solid, but less active middle-aged person,” adding consumer  knowledge of its “innovative and technological properties” were “quite fuzzy”.

Viettel was the largest operator in the market with 59.6 million connections and a 36 per cent market share at end Q4 2020, GSMA Intelligence estimated.