Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Phan Tam speaks at the ASEAN Conference on 5G. (Photo: Minh Son/Vietnam+)
On the morning of October 11, in Hanoi, the ASEAN Conference on 5G took place within the framework of the International Digital Week organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam.
Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Phan Tam said that ASEAN countries all have 5G development strategies but are facing problems with infrastructure, standards for deployment and information security. Therefore, the cooperation of ASEAN countries to build a 5G roadmap is one of the priority tasks and goals in the coming time.
Lao Minister of Technology and Communications - Boviengkham Vongdara, said technology is one of the contents of long-term cooperation between Laos and Vietnam.
"Laos wants to learn from the experiences of other countries, including Vietnam, which has achieved many achievements in digital transformation," said Mr. Boviengkham Vongdara.
Sharing about 5G deployment, a representative from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan - ASEAN's digital partner, said that Japan has set a goal to develop 5G networks. Accordingly, by 2025, the country will build 5G infrastructure for 97% of the population and the figure will be 99% by 2030.
To achieve this goal, in 2019, Japan introduced a tax exemption policy to help companies develop 5G services. As a result, 5G technology has been used at airports and seaports, contributing to solving the problem of labor shortage for this country.
In addition, in order to speed up the progress, Japan has created conditions for many quarters to participate in infrastructure construction, provided that safety and security are ensured. In particular, Japan chose to deploy Open Ran technology (a mobile communication network architecture that allows networks to be integrated using network elements from many different manufacturers, helping to reduce equipment costs).
This technology is different from Ran, which has only a few dominant suppliers, reducing investment costs by 30%, thereby promoting competition. From the above experience, a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan said that promoting Open Ran will promote 5G deployment in ASEAN countries.
Le Truong Giang, Director of Viettel Group's 5G Network Center, said that 5G deployment in the world mainly follows two trends: Open RAN and Core. Currently, Viettel uses the common hardware platform under Open Ran and participates in the Open Ran Radio Alliance.
A representative of the Korea Institute of Communication Technology said that the Republic of Korea has commercialized 5G since 2019, and so far has 22 million 5G subscribers. Many 5G providers have come up with solutions for smart factories, autonomous vehicles, digital content, healthcare digitization, and smart city construction. The Republic of Korea has 33 different 5G services with 8 service groups such as medical traffic, national security, and connection between power transmission stations etc.
Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung also stated that 5G is a big push for humanity to move to a digital environment.
Minister Nguyen Manh Hung emphasized that in order to promote the strengths of digital technology, digital infrastructure is the first that needs to be built. That is 5G, cloud computing, among others. ASEAN countries, since 2019, have held their annual 5G conference. ASEAN is committed to keeping pace with the world in new technologies.
"Digital cooperation among ASEAN countries will help create a digital ASEAN. To realize the target of One ASEAN, digital transformation and digital cooperation are the best solutions. Vietnam wishes to sign digital partnership cooperation with ASEAN countries and countries outside the region. Digital partnership is a new type of cooperation. We will have Vietnam - India, Vietnam - Japan and Vietnam - Korea forums to discuss digital partnership development, "Minister Nguyen Manh Hung emphasized./.
