The World Mobile Broadband and ICT 2021 seminar took place in Hanoi, earlier this week. It is a forum for telecommunications managers and experts to promote telecommunications services in Vietnam. The theme was “5G and broadband infrastructure development” as the country is interested in the application of 5G technology in agriculture, high-tech industry, and the 4th industrial revolution.
A report titled “Southeast Asia’s digital economy 2020” showed that Vietnam’s digital economy reached a total value of US$14 billion in 2020, US$2 billion higher than that of 2019. Of the total number of digital service users, new users in Vietnam accounted for 41%. This makes Vietnam the country with the highest rate of new Internet users in the region.
According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam is one of the three Asian countries with positive growth, with the economic scale reaching more than US$343 billion, compared to US$337.5 billion of Singapore and US$336.3 billion of Malaysia.
A press release has explained that the Vietnamese government has defined telecommunication infrastructure, including mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure, as one of the pillars of the digital economy. Within the past two to three years, the development of broadband infrastructure has paved the way for the development of all other economic sectors.
By the end of February 2021, the total number of fixed broadband subscribers in Vietnam exceeded 17.2 million and the total number of mobile broadband subscribers was nearly 69.5 million, according to statistics of the Telecommunications Department.
Assessing the development of Vietnam’s telecommunications market, Tran Duc Lai, the Chairman of the Radio and Electronics Association of Vietnam, noted that this year, local telecom network operators have deployed 5G and achieved very positive results. From 2021, Vietnam will test 5G services on a large scale and with Make in Vietnam devices.
Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, Phan Tam, said that as society is entering the digital era, over the next 10 years, the world will witness great changes in human society. It is a transition from the real world to the virtual world, the transformation of all socio-economic activities into a digital environment, where data will become an important resource for each country and the country will promote the development of powerful IoT (internet of things).
He further added that telecommunications infrastructure is becoming the fundamental infrastructure for a digital economy, society, and government. The conception of digital infrastructure from the perspective of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) includes broadband telecommunications infrastructure and IoT, AI, big data, network security, digital identity, and electronic payment platforms. Mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure will contribute greatly to the development of the country.
In Vietnam, according to research by the Institute of Information and Communication Strategy, the contribution of 5G to GDP growth is forecast to reach 7.34% by 2025. Therefore, the Socio-Economic Development Strategy for 2021-2030 and the Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2021-2025 will focus on digital transformation, telecommunications, IT, and digital technologies, government, and skills.
Science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation are some of the strategic breakthroughs of the next 10 years of development to turn Vietnam into a high middle-income country by 2030 and an industrial country with high income in 2045. In that context, MIC is determined to go along with the world and be proactive in the commercialization of 5G in Vietnam.
