When Dong Nai Industrial Development and Investment Company (Sonadezi’s first predecessor) was tasked to repair and renovate Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park, its technical infrastructure was seriously degraded. Among others, its telecommunications system was the most fragile part.

The industrial park accommodated more than 100 factories and enterprises of different types but there was only one outdated manual telephone switchboard with 100 extensions. Calls from factories in the industrial park to external subscribers were put on hold while switchboard operators connected calls by inserting a pair of phone plugs into the appropriate jacks. On-hold time was quite long, triggering similes like “instead of waiting for calls from the industrial park to Ho Chi Minh City to be connected, it would be faster to drive there for a face-to-face meeting with your partner!”.

In this situation, the Company decided to upgrade the telecommunications system in the Industrial Park as the top priority. With the permission and support of the Party Committee and People’s Committee of Dong Nai Province, the Company took loans for upgrading the telecommunications system in Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park

With the support of Ho Chi Minh City Post Office, the Company found an automated telephone system with up to 256 extensions, branded as Gold Star of Gold Star Group (South Korea) – the predecessor of the multinational group LG. The Gold Star telephone system was then the most modern and affordable product. The system was quality inspected by Vietnamese authorities and accepted by the Ho Chi Minh City Post Office to be connected directly with the its system.

Inauguration ceremony for the upgraded telecommunications system in Bien Hoa Industrial Park

After installation, the telephone system in Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park soon proved effective. Factories and local subscribers using this system could directly place IDD calls to local and international subscribers. The strong signal allowed the installation and use of fax machines instead of classic telex machines

The efficient telephone system generated impressive revenue. The phone and fax charges alone… collected from the telephone system exceeded the revenue from telephone and telecommunications services of all districts, cities and towns in Dong Nai combined. This was the goose that laid golden eggs, creating significant revenue for the Company to develop and implement the Bien Hoa 2 Industrial Park project.

Delivering a major turning point in the development of the Company in its early years of operation, the Gold Star system was part of our history, successes and sad and happy memories. After completing its mission, the Gold Star system was acquired by Dong Nai Post Office and installed at Long Binh Post Office at Vung Tau intersection.