Nearly after 20 years of speeding up, integration and development, Vietnam telecommunications and Internet infrastructure have been modernized and improved. With the active deployment, catching up new technology and service application in the world, Vietnam telecommunication now remains the fastest development in the world, the telecom development’s speed of one year is twice faster than the previous year. Now, the widespread and deep ICT infrastructure development contributes to the social economic development, national defence and security, meeting the demand for information and culture exchange of people all over the country.
However, the popularization of ICT services focuses on the urban areas. While the Internet and telecom services in urban areas are developing sharply, and they become nearly saturated, the service development in rural areas where makes up 70% of popular, is slow and poor in information for farmers, and agriculture. To promote more effectively the ICT development in rural and remote areas, “bridge the digital gap, bring the ICT progress of the innovation cause to farmers, rural areas”, ensure the benefits from ICT products, on August 1st 2007, the Minister of Posts and Telematics approved the Direction for ICT development in rural areas. The Posts, Telecommunication and Information Technology Journal summarizes as following:
According to the Direction, the Minister requests all government agencies, organizations and enterprises to aware of the role, the importance and consider ICT development in rural areas as a good opportunity to develop; to consider rural areas as a vital part in Posts and Telecommunications development strategy to 2010 and oriented to 2020, (the “take off” Strategy) to make ICT of Vietnam keep up with other developed countries; all departments of Posts and Telematics promote to disseminate, improve the awareness of the importance in widespread ICT application in local areas for the social economic development and farmer’s life improvement; press agencies in the ICT sectors promote dissemination and popularization of basic knowledge in ICT skills in all aspects of people’s life.
The Direction shows clearly that all functional units of the Ministry of Posts and Telematics (now Ministry of Information and Communications) should continue to accomplish the policy, specialized mechanism in ICT popularization: Consider finance mechanism, solutions to ICT service price in accordance with the characteristics of rural areas, create the good conditions to access to ICT services; research, make the suggestion on mechanism to promote enterprises to develop networking, creating good conditions for Internet and telecom service deployment in rural areas; Coordinate with departments of Posts and Telematics to have solutions to supporting the Cooperation of Posts and Telematics continue, develop effectively commune culture post points to supply many kinds of ICT services for people; The Public Beneficial Telecom Service Fund develops and learns from experiences from public telecom every year to get adjustments, compliments in time.
Besides, the minister also requests ICT enterprises to establish, develop technology models, solutions with the low cost, utilize the available infrastructure, apply new technologies on the base of IP in accordance with the economic characteristics of every economic area; establish the particular plan, attach ICT deployment with rural area in the establishment of plan and business mechanism.
ICT enterprises actively suggest with related ministries, sectors, especially the ministry of Agriculture digitalizing necessary information contents, supply simply, useful ICT services for people in rural areas; Institutes and research centers of Posts and Telematics and other ICT enterprises should actively take part in ICT human resource training; the Institute of Posts and Telecommunications Technology should continue and accomplish curriculums with updated solutions to technology and ICT services for rural areas; establishments, units should encourage youth, students to carry out voluntary youth revolution on ICT popularization for rural areas./.