Vietnam to Invest US$329.11Mln to Develop Public-utility Telecom Service

The Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has ratified a program to invest VND5.2 trillion (US$329.11 million) to provide public-utility telecommunication services until 2010, local media said.

 

The program is aimed to bring the average tele-density in the targeted areas to five phones/100 residents and build public phone booths in all communes nationwide.

 

With this program, Vietnam targets to bring public internet services to 70 per cent of the country’s total number of communes by 2010.

 

The program will prioritize districts with low tele-density and hard to reach communes.

 

The public-utility telecom service package includes the elementary telecom service, which is essential to society and is provided for the public under the conditions, qualities and tariffs stipulated by the government, and the compulsory telecom service, which is provided to the public under the requirement of the government to serve the social economic development and guarantee national security.  

 

The elementary telecom service comprise of the standard telephone service and the standard internet access service.

 

The compulsory telecom service comprise of emergency communication needs like emergency aids, health, national security and order, fire fighting, natural disaster prevention, search and rescue activities, telephone directory lookup and other services for emergency activities carried out by the State.