DataPortal estimates that as of January 2020, there were 68.17 million internet users in Vietnam, up 10% from 2019. It also estimates that Internet penetration stood at 70% in January 2020. Data from ResearchAndMarkets said fixed broadband penetration remains relatively low and blames this squarely on the limited number of fixed lines and the dominance of the mobile platform. Internet speeds are also low although. While the country has good coverage via submarine cable, these are prone to frequent cable breaks giving the country a reputation for unreliable connectivity.
Dion Leung, managing director for ASEAN, Ciena said Vietnam has made tremendous amounts of growth in both fixed and mobile broadband penetration in the past few years.
Ciena announced that FPT Telecom Joint Stock Company (FPT Telecom) in Vietnam has deployed solutions from Ciena to build a more resilient network and manage rising residential broadband traffic nationwide.
By enhancing the network FPT Telecom hopes to provide customers with better connectivity and more seamless experience the consumption of digital content. Vietnam driven by entertainment and smart home services. An enhanced network enables FPT Telecom’s customers to access and experience digital content more seamlessly.
“Delivering fast and reliable connectivity is the foundation of making Vietnam a more connected nation and equips us to play in the international arena,” said Hoang Viet Anh, CEO, FPT Telecom.
“With Ciena’s coherent optical and intelligent software platforms, FPT Telecom delivers more engaging digital experiences and ensures our customers get the most value from new technology trends.”
To increase the telco’s network capacity, it has deployed Ciena’s 6500 Packed-Optical Platform. The 6500 provides real-time link performance metrics, thereby giving the operator the ability to optimize capacity and network efficiencies.
FPT used Ciena’s Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller to help with the manual and time-consuming steps of the upgrade and operate FPT Telecom’s network. Network performance is provided by Route Optimization and Analysis (ROA) from Blue Planet.
Service challenges
“Experiencing any kind of service disruption or latency issues will inevitably affect the overall experience for any internet user, especially during a time where there is a greater dependence on digital products and services. Networks might be pushed past their limits if they don’t address the key issue of efficient resource allocation during peak periods of use,” said Leung.
He opined that operators need to take on a more holistic view of network performance, flexibility, and operational simplicity, rather than focusing on increasing bandwidth to create a more sustainable and efficient network that to adapt and scale on demand.
The need for speed
“One of the challenges operators face is simply the need for speed, driven by the increasing bandwidth consumption to new applications such as e-commerce, e-gaming and video streaming,” said Leung.
Network resilience issues
He cited network resiliency as another challenge acknowledging that despite the current six major submarine cables connecting into Vietnam, service providers remained concerned of potential cable cuts which could affect and slow down internet performance.
“Network resiliency has become an increasingly important aspect to ensure reliable broadband connectivity. At the end of the day, consumer satisfaction is directly correlated to their experience of any kind of service disruption. It is important that operators consider network reliability and resiliency as early as possible during the budgeting cycle and the initial network design phase,” said Leung.
Network operations issues
Leung conceded that like most telcos around the region, Vietnam’s operators are increasingly facing pressure to do more with less. Essentially, service providers are demanding networking solutions that lead to operational simplicity.
“An ideal network to them is programmable, with a minimal human touch that can help minimise human mistakes. The network should also be intelligent, collecting real-time data to be able to fine-tune network performance. The network should also be adaptive for network changes such as fibre cuts or unexpected traffic changes,” he concluded.