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VIETNAM SHINES WHEN IT COMES TO ICTHANOI, Jul 06, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- Vietnam is among developing countries that stand out as a better information and communication technology (ICT) performer than its income, according to a World Bank report. In the report Information and Communications for Development 2009: Extending Reach and Increasing Impact, Vietnam ranks the highest in performance among 35 other developing countries in the same bracket. The report uses data from 2000-07 and assesses 150 world economies. Vietnam falls in the low-income bracket of US$935 or less. Vietnam earned six performance points for ICT services access and four for ICT services affordability. Another five points were awarded for the adoption of ICT applications in government and business. ICT services and products access can be ranked by the increasing number of ICT devices and internet subscribers in the country. Telephone lines per 100 people increased from 3.3 to 33.5 during the period evaluated 10 times higher) and mobile cellular subscriptions rose from 1.0 to 27.9 (28 times). Personal computers per 100 people in 2007 fell in at 9.6, 12 times higher than in 2000 and internet subscribers during the same period increased from 0.1 to 6.2 (62 times) per 100 people. According to the General Statistics Office, 10.4 million new subscribers came on board this year, 30 per cent higher than in the same period last year. The country now has 91.8 million telephone subscribers, including 76.1 million mobile-phone customers. Vietnam has made the adoption and promotion of government wide ICT architecture frameworks, approaches and technology standards an integral part of its e-government strategies. According to the report, ICT expenditure is 6.1 per cent of the countrys GDP, considered as a high level. The e-government web measure index is 0.44 compared with the average of only 0.18 in the East Asia and Pacific Region and 1.1 secure internet servers are available per 1 million people. Within the group of low-income countries, performance measures ranked highest in Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan, the report said. The report also showed that the ICT industry substantially contributed to the countrys GDP with 4.7 per cent overall in 2007 compared with 3.5 per cent in 2000. The number is higher than the low-income bracket average. The ICT price basket also dramatically reduced. The monthly price basket for a residential fixed line reduced from $5.4 to $2.7; the price basket for mobile service is $6.3 per month and for Internet service the price is $10.4 per month. A three minute call to the United States reduced from $9.29 to $1.95. Information and Communications for Development (IC4D) is a regular publication of the World Bank Group on the diffusion and impact of information and communication technology (ICT), available at www.worldbank.org/ic4d. Information and Communications for Development 2009: Extending Reach and Increasing Impact takes an in-depth look at how ICT, and particularly broadband and mobile, are impacting economic growth in developing countries. (VNA) lm |