Experts tip broadband boom

Viet Nam had all the conditions for a boom in broadband internet use, network operators agreed at two-day forum on internet telecommunications on Wednesday in the capital city.

Over the last 10 years, the telecom services had evolved from something that was expensive and luxurious to one that can be accessed by all ordinary people, even in remote mountainous areas, the forum heard.

From 0.3 million subscribers in 2000, the country now has 156.1 million subscribers, of which 90 per cent are mobile phone subscribers.

Internet services have also developed rather quickly. At present, the country has 3.38 million internet subscribers, nearly 4 per cent of the population, but the number of internet users is 25.09 million or 29.24 per cent.

Le Nam Thang, deputy minister of Information and Telecommunications, forecast that within the next 10 years, Viet Nam’s telecom services would see the convergence of telecom, radio and television broadcasts and information technology on the broadband platform with high safety and security.

The infrastructure investment focus of telecom enterprises would be in new technologies like fiber optic cable and mobile broadband technologies like 3G and 4G to provide broadband internet services, especially mobile broadband services, he said.

Nguyen Manh Hung, deputy general director of national telecom giant Viettel, said broadband technologies like 3G would help expand the broadband telecom market quicker than the Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), because it has many advantages, including less expensive investment costs and service charges.

Hung, however, said that the high price of user-end broadband devices was preventing the boom in Viet Nam. Viettel was conducting research into producing US$80 smart phones and $150 laptops and plans to launch products in the middle of next year, he revealed.

“If we can remove the obstacle under the form of high prices of user-end products, I believe mobile broadband services will boom in the near future. The goal of 60 per cent of households using broadband internet in 2015 is completely feasible,” Hung said. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam Internet users