TAPESCRIPT


Over the past few years, Vietnam has quickly developed its telephone system.

Vietnam ranks second only to China for growth in the number of telephone subscribers. It is among the 30 countries in the world that have more than two million telephone subscribers.

In the early 1990s, there were only 140,000 telephones across Vietnam. At present, we have more than six million subscribers.

In 1996, Vietnam began upgrading its fixed telephone networks and changing numbers from six to seven digits in Hanoi and Ho Chi Ming City as well as five to six digits in other provinces.

Five years later the mobile phone system was upgraded to meet the growth in customer demand. Since 2000, Vietnam has reduced the price of several services, especially in the monthly fees for fixed and mobile telephones.

In the future, more attention will be paid to the rural areas. At present, 93 percent of communes across Vietnam have telephone services. A network of 6,014 communal post offices have been set up across the country.