VN to embrace a new internet era: VIA

A speaker at Việt Nam's Internet Day 2024 in Hà Nội on Wednesday, November 27. VNA/VNS Photo Minh Sơn

HÀ NỘI - There are vast opportunities for Vietnamese internet businesses, participants heard at Việt Nam's Internet Day 2024 in Hà Nội.

The event, themed 'Tipping Points for Vietnam Internet: Leapfrog with DC, Cloud, 5G and AI', was organised by the Vietnam Internet Association (VIA), in collaboration with the Vietnam Internet Network Information Center (VNNIC), under the oversight of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC).

Leading businesses in the IT and internet sectors attended the event, which has been serving as an annual platform to create opportunities to learn, share and discuss ongoing issues.

Chairman of the VIA, Vũ Hoàng Liên, said the development reflects the country's technological advancement and internet culture. He said the country aims for technological breakthroughs, driven by rapid technological shifts and an increasing demand for digital transformation, with the government playing a proactive role in promoting and expanding internet access across the country.

He said the number of internet users in Việt Nam has been projected to continue growing between 2024 and 2029, to reach an estimated 100 million plus by the end of 2029.

A report published earlier this month on Southeast Asia's digital economy by Google and Temasek said Việt Nam's internet economy had reached US$36 billion this year, a 16 per cent increase from 2023 with e-commerce as the main driver, contributing $22 billion, an 18 per cent increase year-on-year, or 61 per cent of the country's internet economy value.

Liên said Việt Nam, with robust infrastructure and governmental support, has the potential to not only realise said objectives but to grow into one of the world's innovation hubs in the new internet era.

"Achieving meaningful breakthroughs, however, requires strong collaboration between the state, the business and tech communities," he said.

Director of the Department of Telecommunications under the MIC, Nguyễn Thành Phúc, said the ministry is willing to work alongside and provide the business and tech communities to overcome challenges and create opportunities in the new digital age.

At the event, major Vietnamese corporations including VNPT, Viettel and FPT held numerous presentations on new technologies in Cloud Native & AI, Wi-Fi 6E/Wi-Fi 7, 5G strategy and new 5G services.

The association said as the world is undergoing a profound transformation into the AIoT era, a fusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), enabling intelligent systems capable of real-time automation and data processing, Việt Nam's technological infrastructure must rapidly upgrade its data centres and cloud computing systems, providing robust computing power and high-speed data transmission.

Connectivity technologies like 5G and 6G will further drive the integration of AIoT applications and help optimise economic outcomes. The year 2024 is seen as a pivotal year for the Southeast Asian country to roll out its 5G services, marking a milestone in developing the national infrastructure and protecting data sovereignty.