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Competition increases benefiting internet users
The increasingly severe competition among internet service providers has provided customers with more choices in terms of technology, service quality and prices.
Quality of services, particularly access speed, is now more important than the service prices, many internet subscribers in Hanoi said.
Vietnam currently has nine internet service providers, of which the Vietnam Post and Telecoms Group (VNPT), the Vietnamese military-run telecom firm Viettel and the FPT telecom joint stock company together hold up to 87 percent of the market.
Each of the firms is building on their own special strengths to increase their market share.
VNPT is striving to improve its service quality, focusing on expanding services range. Meanwhile, FPT is taking advantage of its technological strength to offer more value added services. Viettel, which have made its name by low prices, is going on with its competitive-price strategy.
A recent survey by PC World on popular IT-telecom products in 2008 showed that the broad-band internet service of VNPT is rated the highest by customers, followed by FPT and Viettel.
The remaining six providers - EVN, SPT, Netnam, OCI, Tiennet and HPT – with only 13 percent of the market have seen their shares shrinking over the recent years due to a lack of NET infrastructure.
Officials from the Ministry of Post and Telematics said however, that the open-door policy on foreign investment in IT businesses without NET infrastructure in accordance with Vietnam ’s WTO commitment will provide a new opportunity for these businesses.
Under the policy, foreign investors will be allowed to own up to 51 percent of capital in businesses which do not have NET infrastructure, and the rate will be increase to 65 percent after three years. The foreign investment cap in businesses that have already had NET infrastructure is only 49 percent.
With one of the world’s highest internet growth rates, Vietnam is an attractive address to investors. Internet users in Vietnam currently represent 23.5 percent of the country’s population and the figure is expected to increase to 35 percent in 2010
VNA
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