1. Mobile Propels Web Uptake in Vietnam
Jun 21, 2013
Government will make infrastructure investments to get consumers online
Vietnam is home to one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, as well as an expanding
online population, according to a new eMarketer report, “Vietnam Online: Mobile Internet Will
Drive Growth.” Driven by substantial investments from the government, the country now boasts
an internet penetration rate of 35.6%, according to November 2012 data from the government’s
Vietnam Internet Network Information Center (VNNIC). Vietnam’s internet user base has
dramatically increased during the past 10 years, from 3.1 million in 2003 to 31.2 million in
October 2012.
The country’s internet ecosystem remains complicated by the highly involved role its
Communist government continues to play in both the wider economy and information and
communications technology development. Thus far, the government has been the main force in
telecom infrastructure investments.
According to the VNNIC, the number of people with access to broadband internet in Vietnam
was 4.3 million in April 2013, climbing from less than 10,000 in 2003.
2. Internet penetration is especially high in the country’s five largest cities—Ho Chi Minh City,
Hanoi, Haiphong, Can Tho and Da Nang. The government’s General Statistics Office (GSO)
reported that in 2012, 32.5% of Vietnam’s population resided in urban areas, where broadband is
commonly available.
Mobile will be a key driver in broadening web access. In September 2010, the prime minister’s
office issued a statement calling for mobile broadband to reach 85% of the country’s population
by 2015, and then 95% by 2020. And Vietnam already has all the necessary ingredients for quick
growth in mobile internet access.
Mobile phones have an incredibly high penetration rate in the country, largely due to the use of
multiple SIM cards by customers. In December 2012, GSO reported that there were 121.7
million mobile phone subscribers, exceeding the country’s population of about 92.5 million by
some 30 million subscriptions.
The state-run mobile service providers have borne the significant costs of building out
infrastructure while keeping prices low for users, effectively subsidizing service plans. Cheap
prices are carrying over to data packages as well, helping to drive mobile internet adoption.
3. Smartphones make up a significant but still small portion of the market. Nielsen in March 2012
surveyed consumers in five Vietnamese cities and found that three in 10 mobile phone users
owned a smartphone. It can be assumed that smartphone penetration in rural areas is lower.
As the web user base grows, the internet is beginning to supplant other media. Mindshare found
that among consumers in six of Vietnam’s largest cities, the average time spent watching TV
daily fell from 140 minutes in 2008 to 124 minutes in 2012. In contrast, time spent online
climbed from an average of 44 minutes per day to 84 minutes over the same time period.
Source : emarketer
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