What was Jimmy up to in Vietnam???
Got me to thinking that I didn't know anything about the telecommunications situation in Vietnam. But, I did find an article that gave some basics at:
nb-pacifica.com
In summary, it says that Vietnam has virtually no telephone infrastructure. In Nov, the number of telephones stood at about .33 per 100 people (that's right, less than 1 per 100 folks), but was planning to increase that by a factor of ten by year 2000. France Telecom has been licensed to build 540,000 lines in Hanoi province.
4 Vietnamese firms were licensed to provide internet and e-mail access by early December. 5,000 to 10,000 people were expected to sign on in the first month, but the infrastructure would probably only allow for ~6 simultaneous users.
There seems to be an ongoing relationship between one of France Telecom's subsidiaries, France Cables et Radio (FCR) and Vietnamese Post and Telecommunications (VNPT).
My immediate take on this is that good grief, this is what's called getting in on the ground floor. (:-D)
There is tremendous opportunity here, from developing actual phone lines, to providing internet access, to providing ALL the discount long distance services. Because of the scarcity of the service, communications has got to be an expensive proposition (my guess). It sounds like quite the opportunity, but requiring tremendous capital. Sure hope that Macker is right about DGIV having an Uncle Scrooge in the background.
My observations are pretty much just statements of the obvious. I'll let others read between the lines, as I don't seem to have much luck in that regard.
Lazarus (trying to imagine .3 telephones per 100 people) |
