Vietnam - Vietnam telecommunication chips after 10 years

All internet users know the importance of bandwidth or the network data transfer speed. ADSL modems are very popular in Vietnam, transferring several megabits per second.

Users of telecommunication devices such as 4G mobile phones -- their data transfer speed running to hundreds of megabits per second -- are rarely aware that behind these devices are “huge telecommunication machines,” or the host servers, with the transfer speed hundreds of times faster, reaching tens of gigabits.

To get to the forefront of global technology, engineers at Arrive Technologies Vietnam (ATVN) – a company in Ho Chi Minh City – are making the final preparations for launching the line of Calypso chips with packet switched network for base transceiver stations (BTS). These chips, boasting the transfer speed of 10 or 40 gigabit, are approximately 10,000 times faster than ADSL Internet. Even more surprising, no more than five hi-tech companies worldwide, mainly located in the United States, are pursuing projects of this line of high-grade chips.

Five years ago, ATVN introduced two highly-integrated chips, AT4848 and Europa, using the 130-nanometer technology. Quietly, their wideband telecommunication chips were welcomed by manufacturers.

The dream of designing chips

Returning to his birth country from the US for the first time in 1996, Trinh Xuan Lac cherished the dream of training a generation of Vietnamese engineers who would penetrate the field of designing telecommunication chips, a high-tech field with tremendous potentials. That was by no means an easy decision for him—coming back to Vietnam to live and work, bringing with him all his knowledge, experience and assets to establish a telecommunication chip designing company.

“During the last 10 years, I have invested nearly 500 billion dongs (US$23.8 million) into designing the most modern telecommunication chips,” Lạc reflected back on the journey he has gone through.

An alumnus of the former Phu Tho Technology University, which is now HCMC University of Technology, Lac went to the US and became one of the very few Vietnamese to hold the position of deputy general director, in charge of high-tech development, at Next Level Communications (NLC). He was also one of the three founders of the famous designing and manufacturing company of wide-band telecommunication devices. NLC was listed on NASDAQ stock market in 1999 and valued at billions of US dollars. He also holds six patents in the field of telecommunication chips in the US.

Once settled in Vietnam, Lac founded ATVN and travelled throughout the North, Center and South of Vietnam with his recruitment team to give presentations, recruit staff, and then train and put them to work on designing and making wide-band telecommunication chips. Almost 100 engineers had been working passionately until their first wide-band telecommunication chips were launched.

It was quite an achievement, considering the technological obstacles a new high-tech company had to overcome in a technically backward country like Vietnam and the remarkable investment it had to make in retraining its human resources to be able to produce top-of-the-line high-tech products.

Lac’s vision and his entrepreneurial spirit helped him to build a team of experienced professionals from fresh graduates, who can now work as effectively as any engineer from a developed country. This is an achievement that cannot be measured in money.

Lac confessed that his strong will and passion, the secret of his success, was deeply rooted in his love for the country.

Few people know that he made an electronic Vietnamese monochord (or dan bau) in Vietnam 34 years ago. Perhaps the unforgettable rhythm of this traditional music, deeply etched in his soul as it is, has given him the inspiration and the strength to pursue the dream of making high-tech chips in his homeland.

Although he has just temporarily stepped down from the post of general director of ATVN for health reasons, his aspiration for new Vietnamese smart products remains unchanged, and he is expected to return to ATVN soon, to work with his staff to continue his dream of developing modern chips in Vietnam.

TUOI TRE

Business & Investment Opportunities

YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.