More Vietnamese cities roll out free WiFi

Vietnam’s third largest city, Hai Phong, has recently joined several other cities in the country to provide free WiFi, promoting digital inclusion and enabling its 1.9 million residents to to more easily access online public services.

The city authorities have set a budget of US$ 213,000 (VND 4.5 billion) to provide free WiFi in three areas of the city.

The race for free WiFi networks in Vietnam’s cities was initiated by Hoi An in 2012 under a US$ 1.2 million (VND 25 million) project.

In August 2013, Da Nang City launched its new ICT infrastructure system to create a solid foundation to support e-government initiatives in the city at a cost of US$ 13 million. This includes a WiFi network that can serve upto 20,000 users concurrently.

Cities of Ha Long and Hue allow users to access public services and provincial information portals free of charge through the cities’ WiFi networks. Access to other websites would require payment of a fee.

Buses running through Ho Chi Minh City now also have WiFi networks on them.