During the questioning session with Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, many National Assembly deputies raised questions about investment, development, and improvement of telecommunications infrastructure quality, as well as coverage in areas with weak signal strength, remote areas, and areas inhabited by ethnic minorities.
Representative Ho Thi Kim Ngan (Bac Kan) mentioned the figure of 761 villages without mobile phone coverage (as of September 2024) and asked: "So what is the Minister's responsibility regarding this issue, and when will these villages have mobile phone coverage so that people can alleviate their difficulties?"
Responding to a question from a delegate, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung stated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, we discovered quite a few areas with weak telecommunication coverage. At that time, the only option was online work and learning. Recently, as we have shifted more towards the digital environment, with increased e-commerce and online work, we have paid more attention to these areas.
During the COVID-19 period, although no new decree was issued, we used a special mechanism authorized by the National Assembly to extend coverage to 2,500 villages and hamlets with weak signal reception; more than 700 new areas with weak signal reception have recently been discovered. The Minister believes that more such areas will likely be discovered in the future.
With over 700 areas lacking signal coverage, extending telecommunications coverage requires compliance with the new Telecommunications Law and a new Decree. To date, the Decree has not been issued, a delay due to various reasons, but the Minister accepts personal responsibility for this.
According to the Minister, the Decree guiding the Telecommunications Law is scheduled to be issued on July 1, 2024. The Ministry of Information and Communications is striving to finalize the draft Decree in November or December of this year and submit it to the Government for consideration and promulgation this year.
Providing further information on the Decree guiding the new Telecommunications Law, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung stated that the Decree will create a much more streamlined mechanism for building telecommunications coverage stations in remote and rural areas. Previously, the old mechanism meant that it took more than ten years to provide support for telecommunications coverage infrastructure. Therefore, with the issuance of the new Decree, telecommunications coverage will be implemented very quickly.
For telecommunication coverage stations in areas without electricity, the Ministry of Information and Communications has worked with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Vietnam Electricity Corporation, but progress has been slow. Currently, the Ministry of Information and Communications is considering additional methods for providing coverage via satellite.
"Currently, the Ministry of Information and Communications is directing network operators to bring low-bandwidth telecommunications services to Vietnam, to areas where we cannot provide coverage with terrestrial mobile networks or where deployment is ineffective and difficult. This is also a solution to provide coverage to most of the communities, villages, and hamlets currently lacking signal," the Minister said.
Minister Nguyen Manh Hung also emphasized that by June 2025, all areas with weak signal coverage will be fully covered. This is both the goal and the promise of the Minister.
"The Ministry is very firm because the lack of telecommunications coverage at this time has a huge impact on life, as almost all of our lives have shifted to the digital environment," the Minister affirmed, adding that currently, 4G coverage has reached 99% of Vietnam's population, approaching the level of developed countries at 99.4%.
Also related to mobile coverage in remote and underserved villages, Representative Chu Thi Hong Thai (Lang Son) pointed out that the issue of mobile coverage in remote villages has been raised by many National Assembly representatives in numerous sessions. However, to date, 721 villages still lack mobile bandwidth, including 124 villages without electricity. Covering villages that already have electricity requires support from the Public Telecommunications Service Fund.
Responding to a question from Representative Chu Thi Hong Thai (Lang Son), Minister Nguyen Manh Hung stated that many areas with weak signal coverage were discovered during the Covid-19 pandemic. Especially recently, with the development of e-commerce and the increased demand for digital services, these areas have received more attention.
The Minister also stated that during the Covid-19 period, through a special mechanism authorized by the National Assembly, the Ministry of Information and Communications directed the coverage of 2,500 villages. Currently, there are 761 newly discovered areas with weak signal coverage; however, these must be addressed according to the new regulations of the Telecommunications Law, and the guiding decree for this Law has not yet been issued. “This delay has many causes, and I take personal responsibility for it. This decree should have been issued on July 1, 2024,” the Minister frankly admitted.
In 2024, the Ministry of Information and Communications will strive to issue this decree. Once this decree is enacted with many streamlined mechanisms, coverage for the 761 areas with weak signal will be implemented very quickly, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung affirmed.
The goal of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) is to provide broadband internet access to 100% of households and 100% of people with smartphones. To achieve this, nationwide telecommunications coverage is essential.
Raising the issue during the questioning session, delegate Nguyen Thi Thu Nguyet (Dak Lak) stated that according to a 2024 survey, the telecommunications and internet infrastructure index has grown quite strongly in the last two years. This shows that people and businesses in our country are benefiting more from digital services and applications. However, access to mobile broadband for the people is currently limited, with a clear disparity between regions and areas, and even more so in ethnic minority and mountainous regions.
The delegates asked the Minister to explain what policies the Ministry will implement in the future to support people and narrow the gap in access to mobile broadband between different regions across the country.
Responding to questions from delegates, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung stated that there is still a disparity in internet coverage between urban and rural areas. Regarding poor and near-poor households and areas facing extreme difficulties, the Minister said that we have already implemented coverage and have the resources to invest in extending coverage to areas with weak signals.
According to the Minister, this year, when the Decree guiding the Telecommunications Law is issued, there will be specific guidelines. Regarding mobile phones, the Ministry is developing a program, mobilizing funds from the Public Telecommunications Fund and budget from the "Wave and Computers for Children" program to provide enough mobile phones to support people's use.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/2-500-thon-ban-da-duoc-phu-song-vien-thong-2343545.html
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