Internet in Vietnam

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The Internet in Vietnam is growing rapidly. Between 2001 and 2005, the number of Internet users increased from 800,000 to 3 million. By 2007, Vietnam reported Internet penetration levels of 11.5%, rising to 22.4 percent in 2008 and 45.2% in 2010. By 2013, Vietnam officials reported Internet penetration levels of 75.2%, which is about 68 million users with Wifi signals that can be found anywhere in every commercial and residential area. As of January 2021, out of its population of over 96 million people, the number of internet users reached approximately 69 million. Internet usage in Vietnam is predominantly mobile-based, thanks to the high smartphone penetration rate. Using the internet has become a daily habit among many Vietnamese people, with multiple purposes including work, study, entertainment, and more. [1]

Contents

History

Development

The mid-1990s witnessed gradual infrastructure development through predominantly international assistance. Around 1992, Rob Hurle, a retired professor of Information Technology at the Australian National University, took what is considered a founding step in connecting Vietnam to the internet with the initial hope of connecting his former students to the ANU mainframes. Partnering with Tran Ba Thai of the Institute of Information Technology (IOIT) in Hanoi, Dr. Hurle has been able to connect Vietnam and Australia via UUCP. [2] Following the success of Dr. Hurle’s venture. ANU as an institution collaborated with Telstra and, using Australia’s DEET grant funding, would develop VARENet, the “Vietnam Academic Research and Educational Network” — an internal network which would by 1996 cover areas of the country including Hanoi, Haiphong, Huế, Nha Trang, and Ho Chi Minh City.

That same year, IOIT and Dr. Hurle collaborated with Canada’s International Development Research Center to developed a different network called NetNam which was focused on providing connectivity to NGOs and a growing Vietnamese client base. [3] Dr. Hurle and Tran were particularly instrumental in the development of NetNam, setting up the technological base of the network and securing the .vn domain code within the IANA DNS registry. [4] At the time, the .vn domain code has been fully located within ANU’s jurisdiction. By 1996, NetNam has had had hundreds of users consisting of academic institutions as well as NGOs.

The watershed moment for Vietnam’s internet history came on November 19, 1997, when Vietnam officially launched internet service after the government established a National Internet Coordinating Committee and made Vietnam Data Communication Company (VDC), a state-owned subsidiary of Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group (VNPT), the first licensed Internet Access Provider. [5] [6] After the establishment of VDC, ANU eventually transferred its ownership of the .vn domain name to VNPT. [4]   By the decade's end, internet users exceeded 100,000, representing an milestone in the development of the internet within the country. [3]

Currently, about 60% of Vietnam's internet traffic is through the Asia-America Gateway cable. [7] A larger Asia Pacific Gateway cable was deployed in 2016. [7]

E-commerce

Vietnam also has an emerging e-commerce sector with fast-growing market value. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnamese consumers have shopped online more than ever, reinforcing the strong growth of the e-commerce sector. Before the pandemic, travel, mobility, and accommodation were the e-commerce category with the highest consumer spending. Since the first outbreak of COVID-19 in Vietnam, consumers have been more willing to shop for basic necessities and fresh products online, making food and personal care the e-commerce category with the highest growth in 2020. These new shopping habits are expected to remain even after the pandemic. [1]

Development

YearUsersPercentage (%)SubscribersCapacity (Bit/s)Domestic Bandwidth (Bit/s)
2000800.000
20033.000.0003.801,036
20069.000.00017.677,000
12/200930.000.007 [8] 24.4753,65968,760
12/201036,784,035 [8] -
3/201250,100,000
Dec/201868,541,344 [9] 70.4% [9]

Internet Freedoms in Vietnam

The Vietnamese government enforces strict controls over the internet. In November 2024, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed a data protection law which limited cross-border data transfers and imposed stringent data processing rules. [10] This law led a number of international tech firms to express concern about internet freedom in the country. [11]  In Vietnam, authorities aggressively pressure global internet companies to comply with content moderation requests. Government officials have forced social media platforms to remove posts promoting political dissent. They have also imposed prison sentences on both activists and everyday users for their online activities. [12] In November 2022, the blogger Bùi Văn Thuận was sentenced to eight years in prison for engaging in antistate speech under Article 117 of the penal code. A few months earlier, in July 2022, six members of the Tinh That Bong Lai temple—everyday people, not online influencers—were sentenced between three and five years in prison for the YouTube videos they posted. The government claimed that their videos had defamed the dignity of both Buddhist leaders and local police.

Vietnam's cybersecurity law enacted in 2019 requires that technology companies hand over information to authorities upon request and store user data domestically. [13] Two years prior, in 2017, the government deployed Force 47, a cyber unit made up of 10,000 members, to counter perceived anti-state narratives. [14] Because authorities weaponize legal measures to control online discourse, Vietnam consistently ranks among the most repressive countries for internet freedom in the world. Reporters Without Borders, in their 2024 World Press Freedom Index, ranked Vietnam 174th out of 180 territories and countries. [15]

References

  1. 1 2 "Topic: Internet usage in Vietnam".
  2. ↑ "Modem history: how ANU helped Vietnam connect to the internet". reporter.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  3. 1 2 "Vietnam: Embracing ICT for Economic Catch-up" (PDF). lkyspp.nus.edu.sg. August 1, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 3, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Rob Hurle - Retired Academic". vietnam.embassy.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  5. ↑ "Information technology development in Vietnam | Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the United States". vietnamembassy-usa.org. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  6. ↑ "How has the Internet changed Vietnam's society for the past 20 years?". scientific_research. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  7. 1 2 "Internet remains sluggish in Vietnam as undersea cable repair delayed - VnExpress International". e.vnexpress.net. Archived from the original on 2020-06-11.
  8. 1 2 "Whitebook of Vietnamese IT 2011, Page 34" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-11-27. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  9. 1 2 "per ITU". Archived from the original on 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  10. ↑ "Vietnam's new Law on Data". www.hoganlovells.com. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  11. ↑ Guarascio, Francesco (November 4, 2024). "US tech firms warn Vietnam's planned law to hamper data centres, social media". Reuters. Retrieved February 28, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ↑ "Vietnam: Freedom on the Net 2023 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  13. ↑ "Vietnam: Freedom on the Net 2019 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  14. ↑ "Vietnam unveils 10,000-strong cyber unit to combat 'wrong views'". Reuters. December 26, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ↑ "2024 World Press Freedom Index – journalism under political pressure | RSF". rsf.org. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
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