Vietnam says it aims to deploy two undersea internet cables, 5G services

Vietnam’s government said on Wednesday it aimed to put two new undersea internet cables into operation and deploy 5G mobile services across the country by the end of next year.

The moves were part of a digital infrastructure development strategy signed by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh on Wednesday, it added.

Vietnam, a regional manufacturing hub, has over the recent years reported outages of its five major existing cables, which are aging. Sources said last month the United States was urging the Southeast Asian country to avoid Chinese contractors to build its new undersea cables due to security concerns.

By 2030, all of the country’s population will have access to fibre-optic cable internet service with speed of at least 1Gbps, the government said, adding that it would be ready to test 6G mobile services by then.

The strategy also includes ambitions to establish AI data centres and hyperscale data centres by 2030, according to the government statement.

Vietnamese mobile carriers have been testing 5G for years, but the mobile service is yet to be commercially available on a large scale.