Many tourism cities around Vietnam have mulled, or are covering the whole areas with free WiFi access, under programs that cost millions of US dollars, but their effectiveness remains to be seen.
The latest city to offer free municipal WiFi network is the coastal tourism hub of Da Nang, which is set to officially put its network into use this September.
The network, which includes 300 hotspots and is worth an enormous US$2 million, is expected to be able to simultaneously serve 10,000 local residents and tourists.
The race among local cities to become ‘Wifi-ed’ was in fact ignited by Hoi An, the neighboring city of Da Nang, in 2012.
The city, whose old quarter is known to global tourists, become the first city in the Southeast Asian to offer free wifi access last year, under a VND25 billion ($1.2 million) program implemented by the municipal department of information and communications and the VDC3.
The 350-hotspot network covers every corner inside the old quarter, allowing tourists to access the Internet at a 256Kbps speed.
In April 2012, Ha Long City also saw work start on its free WiFi network. The project has so far reached its first stage of completion, with 106 hotspots installed. The next stage will see more hotspots installed in other towns of the city, with total capital estimated at VND200 billion, according to local officials.
The central city of Hue is also joining in the race, with the VND3-billion municipal network set to be offered by the end of this year.
Little effectiveness
Many tourists, when contacted by Tuoi Tre, said it is not quite easy to access the free WiFi even when they are sitting at Hoi An centre.
Tran Thai Do, from a company based in the old quarter, also said his company still had to install a broadband network despite the close location to the WiFi hotspot.
However, Le Manh Hung, director of the VDC3, said the municipal WiFi network is operating normally and well serve tourists.
“The free WiFi is more than enough to enable tourists to surf and search the Internet for information or reading newswire,” he said.
“For those who make use of the free access to watch or download movies, slow connection is inevitable.”
To serve the need of the latter, Hung said the company has considered issuing Internet cards to enable them with higher speed access.
“The cards have already been printed and are set to be released this June,” he informed, while admitting that several hotspots are installed at the inconvenient locations.
“We will soon relocate them,” he promised.
Hoi An currently has to set aside more than VND100 million from its budget to maintain the WiFi network on a monthly basis, according to Truong Van Bay, deputy chairman of the city’s local government.
The budget is mainly collected from the ticket sales to tourists, he said.
Similarly, the operator of the WiFi network in Ha Long City, the VNPT, is also scheduled to issue prepaid card for users who want to enjoy more features with free access.
The municipal WiFi network currently only allows users to access several news portals of the city and Quang Ninh province.
“The province’s budget does not have to spend any penny on maintaining the network, so the card issuing is intended to financially share with the VNPT,” said Le Minh Ky, an official from the province’s information department.