Developing telecommunications infrastructure to accelerate digital transformation

Mobile network coverage is regarded as part of digital infrastructure, thereby creating momentum for digital transformation, narrowing the “digital divide,” and providing opportunities for citizens to access digital services.

VNPT Dong Nai is actively investing, upgrading, and expanding information and telecommunications infrastructure to support local authorities and citizens in handling administrative procedures effectively. Photo: Ngan Ha

At present, Dong Nai still has 25 internet dead zones, mainly located in border areas and remote regions with sparse populations. To ensure the success of digital transformation, it is crucial to extend network coverage to these areas.

Bringing telecommunications signals to dead zones

In the past, residents of Phuoc Tan Hamlet, Dong Tam Commune often faced weak mobile signals and disrupted communications. However, as part of the plan to cover 100% of the province’s territory, Viettel has recently completed new Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) in this area, meeting the demand for mobile and broadband internet services. The availability of mobile coverage and high-speed 4G has significantly improved local livelihoods.

Since mobile services became available, Le Van Teo, a resident of Dong Tam Commune, like many others, has purchased modern electronic devices for daily use. Even while working in fields tens of kilometres from home, he can access the internet and call his family without any obstacles.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has recently mandated that by October 2025, all dead zones nationwide must be eliminated, enabling remote and mountainous communities to participate in digital transformation. Accordingly, the Department of Science and Technology of Dong Nai, in coordination with local telecommunications enterprises, is reviewing and testing coverage to ensure connectivity in remaining dead zones in line with the set roadmap, addressing weak mobile and internet signal areas across the province. The Department will advise the provincial People’s Committee on removing legal bottlenecks to facilitate rapid deployment by enterprises, thereby eliminating dead zones in the locality.

NGUYEN MINH QUANG, Deputy Director of Dong Nai Department of Science and Technology

In the past, it was difficult and inconvenient for Nguyen Van Hai, a resident of Dong Tam Commune, to make phone calls to relatives due to unstable mobile signals. “With a BTS built by Viettel right near my house, both mobile and internet signals are now strong. Not only is communication convenient, but I have also installed a home surveillance camera system, accessed online news, kept up with current affairs, and easily learned new knowledge on the internet to improve my family’s livelihood,” Hai shared.

At present, Dong Nai Province still has 25 hamlets and villages without mobile network coverage (18 in the former Binh Phuoc area and 7 in the former Dong Nai area). These dead zones are mostly small residential clusters with only a few households in each hamlet. In addition, certain regions of Dong Nai are mountainous, forested, or uneven in terrain, which obstructs and weakens signals. Some remote areas also lack access to the national power grid or have unstable electricity supply, creating difficulties in operating the BTS.

Alongside State investment, telecommunications enterprises play a pivotal role in building comprehensive infrastructure. In recent years, Viettel Dong Nai – a subsidiary of the Military Industry and Telecommunications Group and the leading telecommunications infrastructure provider in the province – has allocated significant resources to building infrastructure, delivering telecommunications and information technology services, developing digital infrastructure, and improving systems such as fibre optic networks and broadband, thereby meeting the requirements of building digital government from commune to provincial levels.

According to Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huy Tan, Director of Viettel Dong Nai, the company allocates additional capital annually to build BTS in weak-signal areas, ensuring service quality for citizens and supporting defence and security. For remote and far-off areas, challenges remain regarding site clearance, construction permits and electricity supply. Eliminating dead zones requires close coordination among stakeholders, with local authorities adopting specific incentive policies to encourage investment in difficult regions.

Driving comprehensive digital transformation

Leveraging its resources and technological strengths, VNPT Dong Nai is actively investing in and expanding information and telecommunications infrastructure, particularly in remote, far-off and disadvantaged areas. At the same time, it prioritises the deployment of new technologies such as 5G, IoT, AI, and big data in urban centres and industrial zones, creating breakthroughs across socio-economic, scientific, technological and security domains, while enhancing information exchange between government, citizens and enterprises.

Viettel Dong Nai is intensifying investment in additional BTS in weak-signal areas to ensure service quality for citizens and to serve defence and security tasks. Photo: Ngan Ha

As part of the objective to provide mobile coverage along the entire border patrol route, Dong Nai is working with telecommunications providers to install BTS and fibre optic clusters across the area. The investment in building mobile BTS, together with the extensive deployment of fibre optic systems and 3G/4G networks covering 100% of hamlets, not only ensures national defence and security tasks but also enhances the effectiveness of public services.

According to the plan, the Department of Science and Technology has also advised on a master plan for passive telecommunications infrastructure for the period 2025–2030, with a vision to 2045, as well as a digital infrastructure development plan for 2025–2030.

With the increasing demand for digitalization among citizens, organizations, and businesses, modernizing telecommunications infrastructure is a vital foundation for digital transformation. This will enable Dong Nai to overcome challenges on the path towards building digital government, digital economy and digital society, and to successfully implement Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, issued on December 2, 2024 by the Politburo, on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation to 2030.

By: Ngan Ha

Translated by: Thuc Oanh – Thu Ha