Viet Nam has over 8 million telephone subscribers
HANOI - By the end of April, Viet Nam had more than 8 million telephone subscribers, with land line users accounting for 59.7 percent, according to the Viet Nam Post and Telecommunication Corporation (VNPT). The Corporation has fulfilled the target set by the 9th Party Congress one year ahead of schedule.
The first telephone was installed in Ha Noi in 1888, and until 100 years later, in 1988, telephone subscirbers in Viet Nam still numbered under 200,000, or 0.18 telephone for every 100 people. However, after four years of implementing a strategy on development of the post and telecommunication sector from 1993, the figure increased to 1 million in 1996 and reached 7 million by the end of 2003, which meant a phone density of eight per 100 people.
In 2004, the VNPT will focus on developing the broad-band Internet service ADSL and expanding the Internet and cheap telephone services to remote and rural areas. Other tasks for the corporation this year include finalising its plan to establish a post and telecommunication group, re-arranging its subsidiaries to form parent-subsidiary companies, and accelerating the equitisation of State-owned enterprises under its management.
At present, there are three companies providing conventional telephone service in Viet Nam, which are the VNPT, the joint-stock company Sai Gon Postel Corporation (SPT), and the Military Telecommunications Company Vietel. For mobile phone users, the VNPT has three subsidiaries providing the service, namely MobiFone, Vinaphone and Cityphone, while the SPT has the S-fone service.
The International Telecommunication Union has ranked Viet Nam second in the world regarding growth rate in telecommunication sector, behind only China.
Vietnam News Agency - April 26, 2004
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