By the end of 2012, Vietnam had 9.5 million landline subscribers, 131.6 million mobile phone and almost 4.8 million broadband internet users.

The figures were announced at a ceremony held in Hanoi on September 16 to release Vietnam’s 2013 White Book on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which has been developed and published for the fifth time by the National Steering Committee on Information Technology and the Ministry of Information and Communications.

According to the book, the number of mobile phone and internet subscribers in 2012 rose by 3.42 percent and 2.46 percent respectively compared to 2011. Almost 16 million people also used 3G mobile networks.

In 2012, IT industries earned about 25.5 billion USD, representing a year-on-year increase of 86.3 percent, while postal services’ turnover reached almost 274 million USD, up 11.15 percent over the 2011’s figure.

The number of pay-TV subscribers almost doubled, raising total turnover of the sector to over 200 million USD.

In the period, 100 percent of State agencies developed their websites and portals. In addition, ICT training was also maintained in both scale and form while there were 290 universities and colleges providing IT and telecommunications training programmes.

The 2013 White Book supplies information and data in the fields of ICT infrastructure, IT, postal and telecom industry, broadcasting and television, IT application and training, and information safety.

It also updates information related to legal documents, strategies, plans, programmes and national projects on IT-telecom; Vietnam’s international cooperation activities; outstanding IT events as well as typical organisations and enterprises operating in the field in the country.-VNA