GLOBAL INDICATORS WORKSHOP ON COMMUNITY ACCESS TO ICT 16-19 November 2004 Mexico City, MEXICO “ICT DEVELOPMENT AND THE USE OF INTERNET IN LAO PDR” Presented by Singthong Khamone Deputy Director Telecommunication Division Department of Posts and Telecommunications Ministry of Communications, Transports, Posts and Construction Vientiane, Lao PDR

Generality Lao PDR is situated in the centre of South East Asia peninsula. Total area 236,800 square kilometers. The country extends approximately 1,000 km at its longest length in the North West to South East direction. Population is approximately 5.5 million. Vientiane Capital has population about 500,000

ICT Industry in Lao PDR The ICT Industry in Lao PDR was established in 1980’s. ICT Industry has not much developed, due to the small computer user market. Early stages, ICT was limited to small computer stores. The current ICT Industry in Lao PDR divided in 4 sector categories: Computer retailers (50); ISP(6); Education(6); Wireless Network Solutions (1).

General Data of Public ICT Application Geographic Area 236,800 sq km Population 5.5 million Total Fixed Telephone 86,236 lines Total Mobile Telephone 250,279 subscribers Tele-density 6.11 per 100 people Internet dial up users 2,443 lines ADSL 58 users IP Star 38 users

Statistic of Telecommunication Service Source: Ministry of Communications, Transports, Posts and Construction September 2004 Name of Operator Lao Telecom Company (LTC) Enterprise of Telecom Lao (ETL) Lao Asia Telecom (LAT) Millicom Lao Limited (MLL) Ownership Joint Venture Government 51% Private 49% Government 100% Joint Venture Government 22% Private 78% Number of Fixed Telephone (lines) 75,252 9,837 1,147 NA Number of Mobile Telephone (subscribers) 148,147 60,273 10,473 31,386

Statistic of Internet Application Source: Science, Technology and Environment Agency September 2004 Name of ISP laotel (LTC) stea (STEA) laonet planet lanexang etllao (ETL) Ownership Joint Venture Government of Lao 51% Private 49% Government of Lao 100% Joint Venture Government of Lao 30% Private 70% Private 100% Number of users 2,443 (dial up) 38 (IP Star) 500 300 600 100 43 (dial up) 58 (ADSL) Speed of connection 1.5 Mbps 756 Kbps 512 Kbps 2 Mbps 128 Kbps 256 Kbps Internet Access (gate way) Satellite Intelsat Thaicom Satellite Thaicom Satellite Mabuhay Optic Fiber CSC Satellite Asiasat

ICT Development in Lao PDR Present Situation ICT situation in Lao PDR is only primary stage. Requirement for the Management and Operation Government Machinery. Telecommunication and Postal Network having the capacity to transmit data. Few Institutions undertake application research and development of ICT. Computer Hardware and Software are imported.

Internet Growth High interest of using Internet among the educated people. Laotian secondary and post secondary youth are also aware of the Internet. The number of Internet Cafes is growing. They first sprung up to serve tourists but are increasingly attracting curious Laotians. The Lao Government increasingly recognizes that Internet is important for social economic development. The ascension of Lao PDR to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1997 has also been a boost to the Internet. ASEAN has a number of projects that call for countries establishing Internet connectivity.

Barriers of Internet access and use Low income of the population The price of equipment is high Telecommunication infrastructure is lacking in rural and remote areas Website in lao content is very few available Low levels of IT literacy and English language Awareness of the Internet is not high among most of the population

Problems to be solved Lack of coordination in ICT from all side (Government, donors and private sectors) Lack of standards (Lao character set) Software and Hardware standardization Lack of knowledge capacity Lack of ICT Management Strategy Telecommunication Infrastructure cannot support high speed information access

Future Plan Policies for encouraging ICT Development (National ICT Policy and Strategy, ICT Master Plan, Cyber law and other legislation related to ICT). Development ICT Infrastructure (Optical Fiber Network, Research and Development of Hardware and Software). Implementation in administrative service work (Government Intranet System). Set up National ICT Association and promote ICT investment from private sectors. Human Capacity Building (Education and Training).

Cooperation Program We are willing to participate in various ICT programs and activities of regional and international organizations. Changing and developing manpower. Enhance ICT cooperation in regional and international partnerships. THANK YOU