INFORMATION-VIETNAM: Hanoi Proceeds Warily Along Internet Highway

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Andrew Nette

HANOI, May 17 1996 (IPS) - The take-off of the information superhighway in Vietnam is being delayed, say observers, by an increasingly cautious bureaucracy in the lead up to next month’s eighth Congress of the country’s Communist Party.

Informed sources say Vietnam already has the hardware in place for a 32-channel gateway to the Internet which was officially scheduled to come on line last December, but was put on hold at the last moment by the authorities who cited technical and administrative problems.

But observers say the real reason for the delay is that the government is concerned about the implications of the technology and the instantaneous nature of the Internet in delivering and obtaining uncensored information.

When the little known dissident, Nguyen Xuan Tu, was detained by police in January, the nation’s media was silent and foreign journalists filed only brief reports over the incident.

But the news spread rapidly around the world via the Internet, along with debates on the political situation in Vietnam and fierce critiques of the Communist Party.

And in recent weeks, the Communist Party has been making a few significant changes within its hierarchy that are being reported by some foreign media as a sign of an internal power struggle. In the lead up to next month’s Congress, Hanoi would rather not have such reports reaching a global audience on the Internet.

For the government’s part, it has voiced fears of items it deems harmful to Vietnamese culture, entering the country via the Internet, such as pornography and religious material.

“From their cultural and security perspective, the government is right to be concerned about the impact of the net,” says Francis Fortier, an information technology consultant working in Hanoi.

But while taking these concerns seriously, some observers believe the key issues blocking the country’s access to the Internet is conflict over which state organisation will control access to the technology and charge user fees.

The main contender is the country’s phone monopoly, Vietnam Post and Telecommunications (VNPT).

Citing “the need to protect culture and national security”, VNPT has been the central force urging caution over the application of the Internet.

Others suggest that the hidden agenda behind these arguments is VNPT’s desire to extend its phone monopoly to cover all value added telecommunications services.

“They wave the banner of national security and cultural purity, but at the end of the day all they really want is the money,” says one observer.

“Anyone who controls the Internet controls a multi-million dollar industry,” notes Fourier. “VNPT has realised this and are moving to eradicate any potential competitors.”

Two small internet servers already operate in Vietnam. The most important, ‘Netnam’, was established in December 1992, and serves business, the United Nations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Netnam’s is limited to on-line services such as E-mail and allowing the transmission of messages four times a day through a gateway to the Australian National University. It also features a number of bulletin boards and discussion groups on development issues such AIDS and economics.

Despite these limitations, the number of subscribers to Netnam has expanded rapidly. From 25 in January 1995, the service is now used by more than 850 subscribers, including approximately 70 foreign NGOs, seven Vietnamese development organisations, embassies and all the U.N. agencies working in the country.

Netnam has attempted to go fully on-line by lashing a satellite linked from VNPT. The bigger line, costing 16,000 dollars a month, enables subscribers to access the World Wide Web and other services.

Negotiations on the leased line were completed last July, but were cut off at the last minute by VNPT, which has since moved ahead to establish its own system.

Last year, it signed an agreement with the U.S. telecommunications giant SPRINT to cooperate in providing a range of internet services.

The deal, reportedly worth around 20 million dollars, includes the provision of special security software that can screen out transmission from certain users, such as anti-communist overseas Vietnamese groups.

Critics have labelled VNPT’s activities a blatant attempt to scrub potential competition, and warn that a monopoly over internet services will led to higher user costs and less efficient service.

They add that VNPT’s stated political and cultural concerns lack basis, given that the government also owns Netnam, which is managed by the Institute of Science and Technology — a state run agency under the National Centre for Natural Sciences and Technology.

Many also question whether some groups in the government are overplaying the security card given that there are only 60,000 computers among a population of 76 million.

The inclusion of players such as the Ministries of Interior and Culture and Information, who have also voiced concerns over the implications of the technology, has complicated the matter further.

According to Fourier, the issue is now being examined at the highest level of government, the Prime Minister’s Office, although a final decision is not expected until after the upcoming Communist Party congress scheduled for June.

Despite its possible negative consequences, the vast majority of players in the debate believe that internet access is valid for Vietnam’s development.

Heightening this perception is the country’s membership of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is making great use of the Internet. The ASEAN secretariat in Jakarta uses the Internet to exchange economic, trade and policy information to its member states.

And recently police forces of member countries were linked by computer in order to better coordinate intelligence and improve efforts against cross border crime.

“It’s pretty much agreed in government circles that internet access is good, its the way that they will set up which is being debated,” says Fourier.

The most likely scenario is competing servers, with VNPT operating a single outside link. Hanoi is also said to be closely studying the system in Communist China, where internet access is allowed, but all users are required to register with the police.