Vietnam releases data on Internet access quality

The data was collected by VNNIC Speedtest from 30,000 subscribers in 69 networks, mostly Viettel, VNPT, FPT, CMC and MobiFone, three months after system launch.

According to the figures, the average fixed broadband download speed in the first quarter reached 61.39 Mbps, 45 percent higher than the measurement data announced by some foreign systems. For mobile networks, the download speed was 39.4 Mbps, 18.7 percent higher than the foreign data.

The Speedtest Global Index of U.S.-based network testing company Ookla measured Vietnam's fixed broadband download speed in March at 43.28 Mbps, lower than the global average of 74.64 Mbps, while its mobile speed of 33.97 Mbps was above the global 30.47 Mbps.

Last year, U.K. broadband, TV, phone and mobile provider Cable measured Vietnam's average broadband speed at 7.02 Mbps, 10 times slower than Singapore (70.86 Mbps), more than three times lower than Malaysia (23.86 Mbps) and more than two times slower than Thailand (18.21 Mbps).

Regarding fixed broadband connections, according to VNNIC Speedtest, among the top three internet service providers, VNPT ranked first in terms of download/upload speed, followed by Viettel and FPT.

As for mobile internet connections, Viettel had the highest average download/upload speed in the first quarter, with 32.7 Mbps for downloads and 41.45 Mbps for uploads, beating Vinaphone and MobiFone.

VNNIC said mobile internet quality is about 1.5 times lower than that of fixed broadband services.

Average test results of network operators also increased in February and March 2020. This has proved the commitment to ensure the maintenance and improvement of Internet access quality among network carriers, in order to meet increasing demand in Vietnam during the social distancing campaign, the center said.

Amid Covid-19, schools have let students study online while certain companies have allowed employees to work from home. Internet traffic increased by 40 percent in March, according to data from Vietnam Telecommunications Authority.

VNNIC Speedest is a system measuring Internet access quality developed by VNNIC, under the Ministry of Information and Communications. The system can be accessed at https://speedtest.vnix.vn, where users can measure the quality of their own Internet access, compare with the current package and request support from the network provider.

Network carriers can also prove the quality of Internet access they provide via actual measurements, thereby improving the service quality.