October 2003 updates

Latest statistics and open source promotion
By Nguyen Trung Quynh in Hanoi, Vietnam. October 2003

Telecommunication and Internet access data

The following are the latest statistics from Vietnam dated end of September, 2003, see http://www.vnnic.net.vn for the source:

Total international Internet connection: 350 Mbps (compared with 106 Mbps at June 2002)

Total Internet subscribers: 612,000 subscribers, this represents 0.77 % of the population (it was 0.22% in 2002).

Total Internet users: 2,490,000 or 3.05% of the population.

Total 6 IXPs, 13 ISPs and 10 VOIP (compared with 3 IXPs and 12 ISPs in 2002)

Total telephone subscribers: 6,470,000 subscribers or 8,08% of the population (it was 6.25% in 2002), in which fixed line telephones account for 63.5%.

Open source software promotion

The government of Vietnam actively promotes open source software (OSS) application and development in the country. The National IT Steering Committee, chaired by Vice Prime Minister, approved the OSS Master Plan for the period 2004-2008 in May 2003. The Ministry of Science and Technology was assigned to implement the Master Plan. The goals of the plan are:

Develop sufficiency in human resources to master and innovate OSS applications in Vietnam.

Accelerate the use of OSS in order to reduce copyright infringement and costs of ICT applications in Vietnam.

Localize and develop Vietnam's core OSSs to meet the basic demands for ICT applications in Vietnam.

Contribute to the development of the Vietnamese ICT industry in general and software industry in particular.

Contribute and cooperate actively for OSS development in the region and the world.