THE MINISTER OF POST AND TELEMATICS

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To approve the Planning on information and communication technology development in the northern key economic region to 2010 and orientations towards 2020 with the following principal contents:

I. DEVELOPMENT VIEWPOINT, OBJECTIVES AND ORIENTATIONS

1. Development viewpoint

a/ To develop telecommunications and information technology in service of national industrialization and modernization, contributing to turning the northern key economic region into a big economic, financial and trade center in the country and the Southeast Asia, a bridge for integration and efficient economic cooperation with the regional countries. To boost the development of telecommunications and information technology in Hanoi capital so that it can serve as a pervasive development core of the entire northern key economic region and a driving force for promoting and supporting other northern provinces.

b/ Telecommunications is an important economic, technical and service sector of infrastructure, which will be comprehensively developed one step ahead in terms of network, technology and services, ensuring network security, inter-regional and national connection, well serving the operation of industrial parks, export processing zones and the entire society, contributing to quickly restructuring the economy towards modernization and sustainable development, creating a motive force for socio-economic development of the entire region, raising the quality of the people's life, and efficiently and promptly serving security and defense work in all circumstances.

c/ To prioritize development of the information technology industry which will serve as a premise for development of other industries. To directly apply modern technologies, promote labor potential advantages, and enhance international cooperation to exploit capital sources and new technologies. Foreign investment will play the primary role in developing the information technology industry, especially the hardware industry.

d/ To apply widely information technology in economic, social, cultural, security and defense domains, particularly concentrating efforts on development of an e-government and e-commerce. To apply information technology for renewal of the management mode and administration process, thus actively assisting management and administration activities of local administrations, proceeding to building "e-cities and e-provinces." To step by step supply online information in service of the people and enterprises, so that they may work with state agencies more quickly, conveniently, thriftily and efficiently.

2. Development objectives and orientations

a/ Development of telecommunications

- Objectives to 2010

To build up a modern telecommunication infrastructure of big capacity, high speed and high reliability. To build Hanoi into a high-quality international telecommunication service center, which provides various services and operates efficiently. To develop telecommunications to well and promptly serve socio-economic development, maintenance of security, defense, social order and safety, search and rescue activities on the sea and areas frequented with floods and storms. To maintain a high growth rate compared to the national average so that the growth rate of the entire region will reach 20%-30%. To provide telephone and Internet services to all villages by 2010. To narrow down the service-use gap between the regional provinces and cities. To ensure that 100% of communes will have public telephone service points, 70% of communes have public Internet access points, and 100% of districts and most of communes in the region be provided with broadband Internet services. By 2010, the regional telephone density will be 65-70 telephone sets/100 inhabitants (23-25 fixed phones and 42-45 cell phones); 35%-40% of the population will get access to the Internet (see Appendix 1 on telecommunications development targets to 2010 for provinces and centrally run cities in the northern key economic region).

- Orientations to 2020

To build and develop an advanced, modern, efficient, safe, reliable and wide-area information and communication infrastructure. To strongly develop new-generation networks (NGN) so as to provide multi-services on the basis of a unified infrastructure. To strongly boost the development of broadband networks so as to ensure the development of network applications such as e-government, e-commerce, distance training, medical examination and treatment, and other applications. The mobile phone networks will approach the third generation (3G) and next generations. To develop services in line with the trend of converging radio, television, information and telecommunications technologies, promptly meeting social information exchange demand. By 2020, the telecommunication service use rate will reach that of the developed industrial countries. The telecommunication service use rate in rural areas will be equal to that in urban areas.

b/ Development of the information technology industry

- Objectives to 2010

To strongly boost the information technology industry in the northern key economic region into a spearhead and mainstream economic sector which will develop in a sustainable manner with high and stable growth rate and export orientation as the core for accelerating industrialization and modernization in the region and adjacent areas. To concentrate on strongly developing the information technology industry in Hanoi, Hai Phong and Bac Ninh. To turn Hanoi into an information technology industry center in the Southeast Asia. The information technology industry will attain an average annual growth rate of 30%-35%. By 2010, its total production value will reach USD 2-3 billion, accounting for around 8% of the total regional industrial production value.

- Orientations to 2020

To strive to turn the information technology industry into a key economic sector growing at a high, sustainable and stable rate. By 2020, the industry's production value will represent around 20% of the total regional industrial production value. The northern key economic region will become an electronic component and software production center in the Southeast Asia. Hanoi capital will become a strong information technology industry center in the Southeast Asia, especially in terms of electronic component and software production.

c/ Development of information technology application

- Objectives to 2010

To ensure a smooth direction, administration and information exchange system in state agencies, which will promptly serve as a useful instrument for administrative reform. To computerize professional operations of state agencies. To build up and effectively use information infrastructure and websites in service of information exchange, supply and sharing between agencies, organizations and individuals. To strive for the target that 100% of cadres and civil servants can use emails and exploit information for their jobs.

To establish and accelerate e-transactions and e-commerce with the operation of digital signature-authenticating organizations. Websites of provinces and cities must supply and update all information on policies, laws, administrative procedures, working process, investment projects, public bidding and procurement, and online activities of agencies, and online investment attraction information. People and enterprises will have access to and use information quickly and easily. Some declaration, registration and licensing procedures will be carried out online.

To enhance information technology application in enterprises. An average of 60% of enterprises in Hanoi, Bac Ninh and Hai Phong will conduct reporting, statistics, tax declaration, registration and be granted business permits or certificates online. Around 50% of large enterprises will grasp online business skills and conduct e-transactions; 70% of medium- and small-sized enterprises will be aware of benefits of e-commerce and have certain applications in their production and business.

- Orientations to 2020

By 2015, to complete the construction of major communication infrastructure works to link the northern key economic region with adjacent regions, especially the midland and northern mountainous regions and the southern region of the Red River. To ensure information confidentiality and security for information technology and telecommunications application and development activities. To widely apply information technology and telecommunications in all domains, efficiently exploit information and knowledge in all branches. To build and develop an e-Vietnam with e-citizens, e-government, e-enterprises and e-transactions.

II. CONTENTS OF THE PLANNING

1. Development of telecommunications

To develop a switching network in the region, especially in industrial parks, hi-tech parks, technical service centers, industrial-service-seaport complex in Hai Ha district (Quang Ninh), a general economic zone in Van Don island district (Quang Ninh), satellite urban centers around big cities, training and scientific-technological centers, universities, research institutes in Hoa Lac, the industrial city of Noi Bai, the urban chain along Highway 18, Noi Bai airport area, Cat Bi airport and Van Don airport when they are built.

To develop a transmission network in order to get ready for development of industrial parks, hi-tech parks, technical service areas, airports, seaports, new urban centers and tourist sites. To raise the transmission capacity in order meet the increasing demand for broadband services. To facilitate the building of marine fiber-optic cables. To cover the entire region with fiber-optic cables with modern technologies. To use advanced transmission technologies for inter-provincial, intra-provincial and local transmission networks. To build networks of loop structure in order to ensure information security. To prioritize the lines of Vinh Phuc - Hanoi - Hung Yen - Hai Duong - Hai Phong; along the highways of Hanoi - Hai Phong; Noi Bai - Ha Long - Mong Cai; Lang - Hoa Lac - Trung Ha; Cau Gie - Ninh Binh, Hanoi - Viet Tri; Hanoi - Thai Nguyen. To exploit and use satellite VINASAT in order to ensure communication with remote and island areas. To develop peripheral networks toward modernization and higher quality. By 2010, to complete the building of underground networks within cities and provincial towns.

To develop mobile phone networks by raising their capacity and coverage quality, meeting the need for more subscribers, expanding their coverage to all communes located along national highways, provincial or district roads. To boost the provision of broadband Internet services. To enhance Internet use in all villages in the region, to make broadband Internet available at commune cultural and postal points.

To develop and modernize the coastal communication system. To increase the coverage of public terrestrial mobile phone networks on the sea. To raise the speed and quality of transmission lines of the system of coastal broadcasting stations in the region. To build an exclusive information network in service of marine management and administration work.

To develop a fair competitive market. To create conditions for telecommunications and Internet enterprises to jointly cooperate and develop. To create conditions for all economic sectors to participate in investment in, and provision of, telecommunications and Internet services, especially in the resale of services and provision of value added services.

2. Development of the information technology industry

To develop the northern key economic region into a hardware industry center in the Southeast Asia. To develop the hardware industry in Hanoi, Bac Ninh and Hai Phong which will be motive forces in the region. To attract investment in the development of the hardware industry in the regional industrial parks. Major hardware industry products of the region will be computers, domestic electronic appliances, telecommunications electronic, office electronic equipment, and electronic components, accessories and materials. To focus efforts to develop the production of hi-tech products with knowledge content, requiring less labor (e.g., semi-conducting materials, electronic chips) in Hanoi, Hoa Lac hi-tech park and Bac Ninh. To boost the development of enterprises producing auxiliary products in Que Vo industrial park (Bac Ninh), Thang Long and Noi Bai industrial parks (Hanoi), creating a chain of enterprises producing and supplying components to big electronic enterprises in the region. To speed up the operation of Hoa Lac hi-tech park.

To focus on the development of the northern key economic region with Hanoi as the core, which will be a strong center of software and digital information products and information technology services in the Southeast Asia. To develop the software industry in Hanoi and Bac Ninh (in information technology industrial parks) and Ha Tay (in Hoa Lac hi-tech park). To develop software enterprises, digital information content products and information technology services so as to well satisfy the requirements of the e-government and information technology application in the region and other regions throughout the country. To create a link between software industrial parks, hi-tech parks, enterprises, research institutes and universities in the region so as to actively contribute to product restructuring in the direction of raising knowledge content. To enhance the training of high-quality human resources of information technology so as to meet the development requirements of the information technology industry in general and the software and content industries in particular. To study and set up a center for training high-quality human resources of information technology for the whole region and a center for training and retraining senior managers in the domain of information technology.

3. Development of information technology application

a/ Application of information technology to state management

To develop information technology infrastructure, effectively implement information technology schemes of the Government, provinces and cities. To attach importance to the project on the establishment of the Government's local- area network. To continue building a management and administration information system for provincial administrations. To improve and expand information systems in provincial-level professional agencies to urban and rural districts. To step by step apply information technology to commune-level agencies. To concentrate efforts on directing the implementation of the following contents:

+ Completing the establishment of a direction, administration and management information network from the Government to provincial/municipal People's Committees in the region;

+ Establishing regional information systems and databases, especially databases on population, enterprises, environment and natural resources and statistics in service of state management and socio-economic development in the region, on the basis of the national information structure and integration with ministerial, branch and local databases;

+ Establishing and perfecting financial, banking and customs information systems;

+ Applying information technology to the management of cadres and civil servants, households, population and other public administration services;

+ To boost the application of information technology to operations of state agencies in Hanoi.

To start providing online public administration services in provinces and cities with adequate conditions on human resources and Internet user density. To concentrate efforts on directing the receipt and settlement of petitions online; business registration; grant of land use right certificates and construction permits; tax declaration and collection on a trial basis; customs declaration, registration and clearance; registration of means of transport; and public procurement.

b/ Application of information technology to production and business

To encourage and support enterprises to apply information technology, improve the information technology application capability. To enhance the propagation about the application of information technology and e-commerce. To ensure favorable conditions for e-commerce development and encourage online transactions. To enhance information technology application to the management of museums, libraries and cultural centers from central to local levels. To organize the collection and exchange of online information, via the website of the culture and information service, aimed at contributing to promoting economic, cultural and tourist development in the northern key economic region.

c/ Application of information technology to education, training and healthcare

To actively renew teaching and learning methods on the basis of information technology application. To promote online distance training. To equip schools with more computers and computer networks. To step by step include informatics into formal curricula at all general education levels. To boost information technology application to education administration, step by step building up a system of education administration information. To develop an electronic management system for use in all hospitals in the region. To step by step establish a system of health information and knowledge and healthcare counseling. To implement programs on coordination of distance medical treatment and health care between provincial hospitals and between provincial hospitals in the region and central hospitals.

d/ Application of information technology in service of rural development

To formulate a program on raising public awareness and popularizing knowledge about information technology. To gradually apply information technology to the supply of scientific and technological information for socio-economic development in rural areas. To step up the use of geological information systems (GIS) in service of rural and forestry planning, forest and land management. To step up the implementation of informatics universalization and knowledge networking program for rural young people so as to step by step introduce information technology to rural life and narrow the gap between rural and urban areas.

III. MAJOR SOLUTIONS

1. Mechanisms and policies

a/ For telecommunications development

- Inter-branch coordination

To promulgate inter-branch regulations on coordination in planning and building a synchronous infrastructure network. Projects on the construction of traffic works must be notified to all enterprises licensed to establish telecommunication networks. Telecommunication enterprises shall, based on the demand and capacity, formulate network-building projects and send them to traffic work investors at least 6 months before the construction, stating the schedule of coordination in construction, the land need and solutions related to the works. The electricity service shall notify telecommunication enterprises of plans on the construction of electricity transmission lines and fiber-optic cables along the lines. They shall take the initiative in negotiating with the electricity service on a mechanism of joint investment and use of those cables for mutual benefits.

- Coordination between branches and localities

When reviewing and working out their master plans on socio-economic development, localities shall consider the plan on development of post and telecommunication networks as an integral part of these master plans. Provinces and cities shall notify telecommunication enterprises of their plans on the construction of urban centers. Telecommunication enterprises shall formulate network-building projects and send them to localities at least 6 months before the time of construction, stating the schedule for construction coordination and solutions related to traffic works. Provinces shall create conditions for enterprises involved in projects on the construction of communication lines to and auxiliary works in industrial parks. The establishment of networks and service points in industrial parks and tourist sites will be eligible for preferences in terms of land rents and service-providing rights. Telecommunication enterprises providing local services shall make full use of all conditions in order to build an underground local network under the urban development planning, and improve traffic. If many enterprises wish to build a peripheral cable line, they must use common infrastructure.

- Re-sale of services and use of common telecommunication infrastructure

To encourage all economic sectors to participate in the provision of services in the form of agents or service access points. To encourage and impose no restriction on telecommunication enterprises to re-sell services within industrial parks, export processing zones or hi-tech parks through leasing domestic and international long-distance channels. To encourage enterprises to take the initiative in working out a plan on the use of common infrastructure when their investment projects or network development plans are approved. To step by step apply the mechanism of separation of local loops. To study the formulation of a model of enterprises providing network infrastructure services in the form of joint-stock companies.

- Renewal of the organization and management of production and business and operation of enterprises

To adopt policies to encourage enterprises investing in infrastructure, expanding networks and services to rural, deep-lying, remote and difficulty-hit areas. To use the public telecommunication service fund in an efficient and practical manner for areas meeting with exceptional difficulties. To formulate particular mechanisms and policies for the key economic region such as mechanisms for bidding and procurement of equipment for network infrastructure development, policies on service charges and charges of connection of regional operators, preferential policies on investment in infrastructure development; to step by step eliminate the mechanism of inter-provincial fixed telephone charges, applying appropriate service charges in the entire region.

- Assurance of information confidentiality and security

To formulate and finalize regulations on assurance of information confidentiality and security in the telecommunication network and the Internet, raising the capacity of rescue, redressing computer incidents and preventing network crimes. To apply encoding technologies and technical solutions in order to increase the reliability and safety of transactions in the telecommunication network and Internet.

b/ For development of the information technology industry

To encourage and create a transparent and favorable investment environment for foreign investors, especially transnational conglomerates, to invest in the development of the information technology industry. To promote the link between industrial parks, hi-tech parks, enterprises and regional research institutes and universities.

c/ For development of information technology application

To encourage all economic sectors to invest in the development of information technology application, widely apply successful models of information technology application. To support and encourage enterprises to apply human resource administration softwares. To organize public biddings for information technology and procurement projects of state agencies. To soon promulgate information technology norms.

d/ For development of human resources

To study and formulate mechanisms and policies to encourage all economic sectors to invest in the development of human resources of information technology, outsourcing policies for projects on information technology application, policies on attraction of Vietnamese people with high qualifications in information technology who are working in foreign countries, and policies on preferential treatment of outstanding managerial, economic and technical specialists.

2. Capital mobilization

To enhance the attraction of investment capital sources for telecommunications and information technology development in the northern key economic region. To mobilize and make full use of domestic capital sources for investment in telecommunications development. To attach importance to capital mobilized through equitization of enterprises and re-sale of services. To use ODA capital to support telecommunications development in rural, mountainous, deep-lying and remote areas, and develop public services. To efficiently use the public telecommunication service fund. To work out and implement a program on calling investment from the world's top information technology enterprises. To adopt incentives for investment projects with high gray content which employ and exploit local high-quality human resources and projects with plans on technology transfer to Vietnam. To pay attention to attracting capital of overseas Vietnamese for development of the software industry. To concentrate state capital in key information technology industry projects with high technological content and added value. To mobilize different capital sources for information technology application, especially for e-government-related projects. To balance funds so as to ensure the execution of key projects and construction of infrastructure for information technology application. (Key projects on telecommunications and information technology development in the northern key economic region are listed in Appendix 2).

3. Development of human resources

To enhance the training of high-quality human resources in service of telecommunications and information technology development. To redistribute the labor force of the information technology industry in the region in the direction of relocating establishments which produce low value-added products and employ many laborers to industrial parks of provinces with lower service and labor costs. To propagate and popularize knowledge so as to improve the information technology application awareness, understanding and capacity of cadres, civil servants, people and enterprises. To boost education socialization, attracting investment capital sources for information technology training. To enhance the training of chief information officers in state agencies. To promote informatics teaching and learning at lower and upper secondary schools.

4. Development of science and technology

To speed up the socialization of scientific and technological activities. To raise the efficiency of scientific and technological institutions, associating scientific and technological development with production and business efficiency, based on the autonomy and accountability of scientific and technological institutions. To efficiently use the venture investment fund in the science and technology domain so as to support the realization of business ideas, development of new products and production projects with good potential but involving risks, and research and development projects in the telecommunications and information technology domain.

To adopt a mechanism for coordination between universities, research institutions and enterprises in the implementation of telecommunications and information technology research schemes, facilitating and supporting enterprises in research and development of new products. To encourage forms of scientific and technological cooperation with foreign organizations and companies in the transfer of advanced management and production technologies in the telecommunications and information technology domain. To encourage foreign hi-tech investment in telecommunications development so as to raise the quality and reduce costs of services, thereby accelerating the universalization of telephones and the Internet in Vietnam.

Article 2.- Organization of implementation

1. The Ministry of Post and Telematics shall act as the major agency to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries, branches and provincial/municipal People's Committees in, directing enterprises to develop infrastructure of telecommunications networks in line with the plannings of other branches, especially plannings on traffic, urban centers, industrial parks and water supply and drainage; coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in formulating and proposing policies to promote the development of infrastructure of telecommunications networks and the information technology industry, and encourage and speed up the information technology application in the northern key economic region; organize the implementation of the Planning, periodically review and report the implementation results to the Prime Minister.

2. People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities in the northern key economic region shall formulate (or adjust) local plannings on telecommunications and information technology development according to this Planning; and incorporate contents of this Planning into their annual and five-year plans.

3. Telecommunications and information technology enterprises shall base themselves on this Planning to work out strategies and business plans in accordance with the orientations for telecommunications and information technology development in the northern key economic region and the Planning implementation schedules of localities and other branches.

Article 3.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."

Article 4.- Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, presidents of provincial/municipal People's Committees and concerned units shall implement this Decision.