Gov’t has big plans for ICT

Viet Nam Government has pledged strong investment into the information, communication and technologies (ICT) industry with an outlay of US$8.5 billion over the next 10 years, Le Nam Thang, deputy minister of Information and Telecommunications said on Wednesday.

“This is a great motivation for the industry to take off,” Thang said at the opening ceremony of the 13th Viet Nam Telecom/Electronics – Internet & IT 2010 exhibition at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre.

At least 200 local and international enterprises from 13 nations and territories – Australia, Britain, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, the US and the host nation are participating in the expo.

The 4-day event covers an area of 9,000sq.m, double that of last year, and focuses mainly on digital convergence.

In 2010, Viet Nam has improved its world IT connectivity index by 16 positions in comparison with 2009, it was said at the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The ICT industry turnover is expected to reach $10 billion this year and rise further to $15 billion by 2015.

“This [the exhibition] is a good chance for local enterprises and Government offices to learn of new technologies and ideas for the future brought in by the top ICT companies in the world,” said Pham Long Tran, Chairman of the Viet Nam Post and Telecommunication Corporation, which organised the event.

Participating firms will introduce new technologies and ideas for the sector, focusing on mobile solutions, corporate management services, online content, 3G services, Wimax, broadband, electronic entertainment, multimedia, next generation networks (NGN) and communication satellites.

A seminar on ICT development trends in Viet Nam for the next decade, ICT applications in governance, ways to bring 3G applications into daily life, cloud computing, long term evolution (LTE) will be held during the fair.

Top Vietnamese ICT companies like MobiFone, VinaPhone, Vien Thong A have joined the event with a series of displays and big promotions for visitors.

Prominent among the participating enterprises are Taiwanese electronic manufacturers looking for a stronghold in the Vietnamese market. They are implementing a Taiwanese Excellence campaign, introducing top products like Acer, Asus, D-Link and Zyxel.

UK-based Metaswitch Networks, carrier system and software solutions provider to AT&T, British Telecom, Cable & Wireless, O2 and Vodafone, is also eyeing the potential that Viet Nam presents by introducing their latest telephony solutions like voicemail and unified messaging. —VNS

Tags: Vietnam ICT industry