~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

[Year 1997]
[Year 1998]
[Year 1999]
[Year 2000]
[Year 2001]

Vietnam begins to relax control over Internet access

HANOI - The Vietnamese government has granted a license to a state-owned company for a direct Internet connection, in what is seen as the first step of a relaxation of control over Internet access, an official said Monday. The permission was given to Saigon Software Park, an affiliate of state-owned Saigon Electronics Corp., by the Directorate General of Post and Telecoms, making it the first Vietnamese company to have direct access to the Internet, company manager Nguyen Huu Hien said.

Currently all Internet service providers, software companies and Internet users must go through the gateways of Vietnam Data Co., an affiliate of state monopoly Vietnam Post and Telecoms Corp. The government installs "firewalls" that prevent Internet users from accessing sites it considers bad for the country. These include pornography and sites where Vietnamese dissidents criticize the government. "This is only the beginning of a process in which the general public will be able to have direct access to the Internet. It's good for the country's development," Hien said. The country's leadership has stressed the importance of a knowledge-based economy and the Internet is an important tool for realizing that goal, he said. Hien said he believes some 30 software companies and five Internet service providers will be granted direct access to the Internet.

The Vietnam News Agency reported Monday that the number of Internet users in Vietnam has risen to 121,000 since the service was first launched in 1997.

Associated Press - January 29, 2001.