Friends, in Vietnam a SIM card costs $5 (100,000 vnd) and can be purchased at any office cellular communications. It makes absolutely no difference which company: Viettel, Mobifone, Vinafone.
Previously, SIM cards were freely sold in any supermarket and at the airport and in travel agencies (Perhaps they are still sold). Now for the SIM card to work, you need to come to the cellular office with your passport and sign an agreement.

I'll tell you my experience connecting to the Internet. If you are not satisfied internet wi-fi which is present almost everywhere in Nha Trang: in hotels, restaurants in shopping centers.

External third-party Internet via wi-fi is not enough for me - since I always have to be in touch, even if the power goes out suddenly! Although power outages are not frequent in Nha Trang, only a couple of times a year.

So how to connect Mobile Internet for iPad or iPhone or for a laptop (then via a 3G modem)

1. Buy a SIM card and cut it to the required size (if for an iPad or iPhone). I will help you cut it correctly where you bought the SIM card.

I bought a SIM card from a mobile operator: “Mobifon” for 95,000 vnd

2. Top up your balance for the required amount.

I topped up with 200,000 vnd

How to top up your balance? In shops or travel agencies in Nha Trang, paper cards for each operator are sold in different denominations: 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 200,000 dong. Such cards used to be in Russia: you need to erase the silver paint under which there is a secret code.

Then on your phone you dial: *100* secret number # call. After which you receive an SMS stating that the money has been deposited into your account.

3. Choose a tariff plan and send SMS.

If your mobile operator: Vinaphone

0.6 GB price 70,000 VND - send SMS “DK MAX” to 888;

1.2 GB price 100,000 VND - send SMS “DK MAX100” to 888;

3 GB price 200,000 VND - send SMS “DK MAX200” to 888.

If your mobile operator: Viettel

0.6 GB price 70,000 VND - send SMS “MiMax” to 191;

1.2 GB price 90,000 VND - send SMS “MiMax90” to 191;

1.5 GB price 120,000 VND - send SMS “Dmax” to 191;

3 GB price 200,000 VND - send SMS “Dmax200” to 191.

If your mobile operator: Mobifone

0.6 GB price 70,000 VND - send SMS “DK MIU” to 999;

1.5 GB price 120,000 VND - send SMS “DK M120” to 999;

3 GB price 200,000 VND - send SMS “DK BMIU” to 999.

I chose the third option for Mobifon for 200,000 and I can say that all sites open well - quickly, but the video is viewed poorly. This is still an option not for working on the Internet, but for being always in touch or looking for information.

I have an iPad - SMS is not sent from it, so I first did all the manipulations with replenishing the account and choosing a tariff on the phone, and then moved the SIM card to the iPad.

When a month passes and the mobile Internet turns off, I again perform the steps described above with the SIM card through the phone, and then again transfer it to the iPad

and finally

How to call Russia from Vietnam?

type: +7 and a phone number without the first eight, for example: +7 495 3456789

The cost of 1 minute of a call to Russia is almost the same for all cellular operators: Vietel, Mobifon, Vinafon = 5,000 dong.

How to check your phone account balance in Vietnam?

Dial: *101# call

After which you will receive an SMS with information about the balance status on the SIM card.

For any first conversation, a package of 20 minutes for 200 rubles is activated. These 200 minutes must be spoken before the end of the day, otherwise they “burn out.” The 21st and further minutes cost 10 rubles. SMS message – 20 rubles.

There is a “Per-minute billing” service. In this case, the package is not activated, 200 rubles are not debited, but the call already costs 30 rubles per minute.

Tele 2

Any incoming and outgoing calls are 15 rubles per minute. SMS message – 6 rubles.

An interesting fact is that an SMS message from Tele2, even without options, costs less than with special options MTS and Megafon.

If you enable the “Conversations without borders” option, then for 5 rubles per day, the cost of a call for an incoming call is reduced to 5 rubles per minute.

Perhaps Tele2 can be called the best operator connections for trips to Vietnam. Tele2 operates through Viettel's cellular network, the largest and most advanced in Vietnam. The price per minute is not the lowest, but the most profitable, because you don’t need to buy minutes in a package at once, but you can talk at least 1 or 2 minutes a day.

SIM cards from local operators

The development of mobile communications in Vietnam began only in 1995, when the state opened the communications market to private companies. Despite the late start, the country cellular networks developed, and now there are 4 main operators: Viettel Mobile, MobiFone, VinaPhone and Vietnamobile.

There is also the operator Gmobile, previously called Beeline. The name is not accidental; it was co-owned by the Russian Beeline. We can say that now Gmobile (Beeline) actually does not exist. For a long time they could not obtain a license for 3G or 4G; in 2016 they finally received it, but did not build the network. As a result, we lost almost all our clients.

The S-Fone operator does not exist now - it has gone bankrupt.

Viettel Mobile, MobiFone, VinaPhone are the largest, they are also called “ The Big Three" See their logos in the picture below, click on the picture to enlarge.

Laws and regulations

By law, any SIM card must be registered to a valid passport. Vietnamese people do not really like to follow laws, so until November 2016 no one paid attention to this law. In November 2016, the authorities blocked 12 million “left” SIM cards, and began to comply with the law. Since then, the “left” SIM cards have been periodically blocked.

A SIM card can be purchased either at the official office of one of the operators, or at small kiosks. According to all the rules, a SIM card can only be registered at the official office. The kiosks sell either unregistered SIM cards or those registered to “left” people.

Important point! When buying a SIM card outside the official office, be sure to make sure it is working. To do this, you can either make a call or send an SMS to the number ‘1414’ with the text ‘TTTB’. If the SIM card is registered, a response SMS will be sent, the text will contain the name, date of birth and passport number of the owner.

Important point! If you bought a SIM card registered to a “left” person, then mentally prepare for the fact that it will be turned off without prior notice. Although this is unlikely to happen before the end of the vacation, most likely it will be turned off later, when you are already at home.

There are three in Vietnam large operator mobile GSM communications, which operate throughout the country and control 90% of the market. These are Mobifone, Vinaphone and Viettel. There is practically no difference in tariffs among them, except for a slight difference in coverage, but this only applies to all sorts of remote places. In all major tourist centers the quality of communication is identical.

Not in Vietnam internal roaming and, having bought a SIM card in Ho Chi Minh City, you can travel with it throughout the country and use it in Hanoi at the same rates.

In this post I will tell you where you can buy a SIM card, how to top up your balance, how to connect to mobile Internet and how much it costs to call Russia. Information is current as of March 2019.

Tourist SIM card

If you arrive for a short time, then there is little point in buying a regular SIM card. A tourist one, which is sold at all airports, as well as in tourist information centers, for example in the Russian Information Center, is suitable for you. With a tourist SIM card you will receive a package of Internet and international calls, and after your departure it will simply stop working. A tourist SIM card will be more expensive than a regular SIM card with the same amount of traffic by about VND 100,000, but in addition to traffic you will receive minutes for calls to regular phones to other countries, as well as telephone support in several languages ​​(unfortunately, not in Russian). Here are the prices and conditions for tourist SIM cards from the main operators:

Viettel:
The cost of the card is from 100,000 to 200,000 VND, plus you will need to activate one of the packages:

Price	Internet	Local calls	Inter-calls	Term of the work
100 000	1 GB	20 minutes	10 min	5 days
200 000	2 GB	40 min	20 minutes	10 days
300 000	3 GB	60 min	30 min	15 days
500 000	5 GB	100 min	50 min	25 days

Vinaphone:
A SIM card costs VND 300,000 and includes 8 GB of internet, 80 local minutes, 80 SMS and 50 minutes for calls to other countries. The SIM card will work for 30 days.

Mobifone:
This SIM card has its own brand Way2go Vietnam. It costs VND 250,000 and includes 6GB internet, 60 local minutes, 100 local SMS and 30 international calling minutes. It will work for 30 days.

Applying for a tourist SIM card is much faster than a regular one. This may be another reason in favor of buying it. But if you come to Vietnam for several months, you will need to apply for a regular SIM card.

Where can I buy a regular SIM card?

Previously, buying a SIM card in Vietnam was not difficult; they were sold even in the smallest street shops. Locals bought them with their passports and resold them. After November 2016, when the authorities blocked more than 12 million of these SIM cards, it is very difficult to find them. It’s easier to go to the operator’s office and apply for a SIM card there. Don’t believe it if they tell you that only a Vietnamese can get a SIM card; I personally applied for a SIM card at an operator’s salon in Nha Trang for my own passport and there were no problems. Mobifone, Vinaphone and Viettel communication stores can be easily found on Google maps.

Top up your balance

You can top up your balance at the checkout counters of chain stores (for example, VinMart), and you can also buy top-up cards in private roadside shops. We simply say: “Mobifone fifty fauzend”, this means that we have the operator Mobifone and we want to deposit VND 50,000 into the account. And they give us a card for this amount. To top up your account, erase the protective layer from the card and see the code. Instructions for activating the card are written on the card itself. For Mobifon it is: *100*code number#call, find out the balance: *101#call.

When you request an SMS with your balance, you will receive a lot of different numbers - don’t be alarmed, in addition to your main account, you now have promo accounts. Here is a breakdown of the mysterious abbreviations:

• TKC - “tài khoản chính” (main account, your money): you can spend this money to connect various services and for calls to other networks.
• KM1 - “Khuyến mại 1” (promotional account 1): used for on-net calls, SMS, MMS and other things.
• KM2 - “Khuyến mại 2” (promo account 2): used for calls, SMS, MMS and other things within the VNPT network (Mobifone, Vinaphone).
• KM3 - “Khuyến mại 3” (promo account 3): used for calls, SMS, MMS and other things within Vietnam (seemingly for everything local operators, but not sure exactly).

When the main account is empty, promo accounts are not valid.

Mobile Internet in Vietnam

All major cellular operators in Vietnam provide mobile Internet services using the 4G standard. The quality of the Internet is so good that in some cases it can act as a replacement bad internet In a hotel.

Tariffs and how to connect traffic packages are written on the operator’s websites. To make it more convenient for you, I have written out some packages with prices and instructions for connecting here.

• Vinaphone:
  • 5 GB for 70,000 VND - SMS “DK DMAX” to 888;
  • 9 GB for 100,000 VND - SMS “DK DMAX100” to 888;
  • 20 GB for 200,000 VND - SMS “DK DMAX200” to 888.
• Mobifone:
  • 3.8 GB for 70,000 VND - SMS “DK HD70” to 999;
  • 5.5 GB for 90,000 VND - SMS “DK HD90” to 999;
  • 8.8 GB for 1,20,000 VND - SMS “DK HD120” to 999;
  • 16.5 GB for 200,000 VND - SMS “DK HD200” to 999.
• Viettel:
  • 3 GB for 70,000 VND - SMS “Mimax70” to 191;
  • 5 GB for 9,0,000 VND - SMS “Mimax90” to 191;
  • 8 GB for 125,000 VND - SMS “Mimax125” to 191;
  • 15 GB for 200,000 VND - SMS “Mimax200” to 191.

• Vinaphone: https://my.vinaphone.com.vn/Payment/Introduce4G ;
• Viettel: https://www.vietteltelecom.vn/di-dong/goi-cuoc-3g (no English, use Google site translator).

If your phone does not automatically connect to the Internet, here are the settings for the main operators:

Vinaphone:

Name: Vinaphone
APN (Access Point): m3-world
Username: mms
Password: mms

Mobifone:

Name: Mobi Gprs
APN (Access Point): m-wap
Username: mms
Password: mms

Viettel:

Name: Viettel
APN (Access Point): V-Internet

If these settings do not help, then you will need to contact a mobile operator or a store that sells mobile phones and ask them to set up mobile Internet for you. Fortunately, everything more phones automatically receive all settings.

International calls

In the era of instant messengers, making regular phone calls to another country is a little strange. But there are still cases when there is no other way. To save on a call, it is better to use VoIP - this is when a call to another country is made via the Internet, although for you everything looks as if you are just calling from a phone. The difference, however, between such a call and a regular international call in Vietnam is not big: for example, Mobifone VoIP to Russia costs VND 3,960 per minute. And the usual one international call will cost 4,114 VND. The cost is approximately the same for calls to Ukraine and Kazakhstan and a little more expensive to Belarus. Prices are indicated for all Russian numbers, except for those with operator code 954. For this unlucky code, the price is 5-6 times higher. The same for Belarusian codes 33344 and 602.

Mobifone and Vinaphone have VoIP. To call via Mobifone, dial 131 + 00 + country code + phone number. To call via Vinaphone 171 + 00 + country code + phone number.

One of main issues, which is asked by tourists going on holiday abroad, is the issue of mobile communications and the Internet at the resort. In Vietnam, travelers will not have problems with communication, but You can even talk on the phone cheaper here than in the homeland.

mobile connection

Communicating with family and friends who remain in Russia using a domestic SIM card is extremely enjoyable expensive and pointless . In Vietnam, literally on every corner - in supermarkets, shops and private shops local SIM cards for sale major mobile operators.

For iPhone owners, these cards can cut to required size right at the point of purchase. The most popular operators The connections here are Vinafone, Mobifone and Viettel. The card itself costs a maximum of 100,000 VND ( about 150 rubles) and this price already includes 30 minutes of calls within the country.

Usually on maps there are two separate accounts : One for off-net and international calls, and the second for domestic calls. Several times a month mobile operators are running a three-day promotion, during which when you top up your balance mobile phone all subscribers receive a gift in the amount of 50% of the card value. How to recognize such a promotion among the incomprehensible SMS messages in Vietnamese that you will receive every day? There should be an expiration date (usually the next two days), and the numbers 100% and 50%. If you see this and your balance (check balance *101# call) is low, buy and activate a payment card these days.

Concerning rates for calls to Russia, then they depend on the specific operator, but on average one minute costs about 6-7 rubles per minute compared to the exorbitant prices for calls from “native” SIM cards. SMS messages to your homeland will cost even less, and calls to tourist friends in Vietnam will cost from about 40 kopecks to three rubles. By the way, there is no roaming within Vietnam, so when traveling to different cities of this country no need to buy a new SIM card in each of them.

To call from Vietnam to Russia from a mobile phone on a mobile phone, you should dial the number according to the usual pattern: +7 and then the necessary numbers. For calls to landlines, first dial +7 - area code - phone number. A similar scheme applies when calling landlines in Russia from landlines in Vietnam.

When the money is on mobile account run out, then to replenish the balance you should contact the same places where cards are sold. Here you should purchase a special card with a protective layer - similar to a lottery ticket - and dial certain commands on your phone (*100*code from payment card#). The instructions are always written on the card, but you can do it easier and ask the seller to help pay for the phone. By the way, the cost of the card always coincides with its face value, that is, a card worth 100,000 dong will cost exactly 100,000 dong.

Internet

The same as with mobile communications, There are no problems with the Internet in Vietnam. More precisely, with its presence. But the connection speed may not please you. But Skype still works. There are also Internet cafes everywhere, where Vietnamese youth have fun playing “shooting games” and “adventure games.” The cost of one hour of Internet here costs an average of 3,000 - 20,000 dong. In addition to specialized cafes, Wi-fi is available in almost all hotels and guesthouses Vietnam, as well as in restaurants and cafes. Most often, Internet access is free there. In major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, access points wireless internet They are even located on the streets.

With mobile Internet in Vietnam, everything is also decent- tariffs are amazing low prices, and the quality for the most part does not cause any complaints. There are several tariff plans, for example, 300 MB at a speed of 1 Mbit/sec. for a month for 50,000 VND. There are also options with speeds of 3.6 Mbps and 7.2 Mbps. As for modems, they can also be purchased at mobile phone points, shopping centers and regular stores that sell SIM cards. As a rule, store employees always help with setting up a modem and connecting to the Internet.