Vietnam’s Strategic Investment: 2 to 4 New International Telecommunications Cables with 60 Tbps Data Capacity by 2025
As part of the 2021-2030 plan for information and communication infrastructure development, Vietnam aims to invest in additional international telecommunications cables. These cables, with a collective data capacity of 60 Tbps, will play a crucial role in fostering high-speed, high-bandwidth telecommunications networks. The initiative aligns with the nation’s goals of advancing digital transformation, supporting the digital economy, facilitating digital government services, and enhancing national defense capabilities.
The government-approved plan, disclosed by the Ministry of Information and Communications, emphasizes the necessity of developing two to four more international cables to meet the outlined objectives.
Priority areas for cable connections include locations with existing stations, along with connections to Vietnam’s major islands and island districts. Notably, a cable in the Gulf of Thailand region will link to Phu Quoc and other significant islands.
Concurrently, existing land cables will undergo maintenance and upgrades, aiming for a total data capacity of 60 Tbps across all of Vietnam’s land and sea cables by 2025.
These infrastructure enhancements are poised to ensure efficient, high-speed data transfer between Vietnam and the global network, alleviate the strain on existing international cables, bolster network security, and provide reliable Internet connections for users.
The ambitious targets set for 2025 include universal access to fiber connections for all Vietnamese households, 90% of users enjoying fixed Internet connections at 200 Mbps, and 90% of socio-economic organizations benefitting from 1 Gbps Internet connections.
Mobile Internet standards are also specified, with a minimum download speed of 40 Mbps for 4G networks and 100 Mbps for 5G networks. Additionally, the goal is for all adults to possess smartphones.
Despite Vietnam currently having five undersea cables with a total capacity of 18.7 Tbps, disruptions are common. January of the previous year saw issues on all five cables, leading to a 75% loss in capacity and hindering users’ connections.
