Vietnam will try out the commercial deployment of 5G networks in October this year as part of the country’s drive to transition to the digital era, officials said at a meeting this week.

Authorities will provide guidance on establishing new-age technology infrastructure to every city and province from now until the end of the year, Phan Tam, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, said in Hanoi on Monday.

His ministry will urge companies to churn out smartphones so every citizen can own one, Tam added.

Each household should be connected to fiber optic Internet in preparation for a transition to a digital economy, society, and government, he elaborated.

The ministry will allow firms to supply 5G services to industrial parks, research institutes, universities, and urban centers in the coming time.

“In July 2020, the Ministry of Information and Communications will try out Vietnamese-made 5G devices, with a view to testing the commercial roll-out of 5G services using Vietnamese equipment in October,” Deputy Minister Tam said.

Vietnam should make more investments in digital transformation given the current COVID-19 pandemic, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung remarked at the same meeting in Hanoi.

“It’s time for us to rise, invest heavily in the digital transition, and develop digital companies,” Hung said.

Vietnam should also build a self-reliant economy in case extreme situations happen, leading to its isolation, he noted.

Some of the goals Vietnam is targeting include broadband infrastructure, cloud computing, tech applications, and information security, Hung said.

A ‘Make in Vietnam’ strategy, which encourages companies to produce equipment in the Southeast Asian country, will induce aspiration and prosperity, he concluded.

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