The information and communications sector recorded strong growth in 2022, with revenue totaling nearly VND3.9 quadrillion ($165.2 billion), a year-on-year increase of 12.7 per cent, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC).

Domestic telecommunications firms have provided services for 2,152 out of 2,418 remote hamlets and villages around the country, raising coverage to 99.73 per cent, the MoIC reported at a conference in Hanoi on December 18 to review the ministry’s performance in 2022 and set tasks for 2023.

The digital economy contributed 14.26 per cent to the country’s GDP.

The MoIC expects total revenue from the postal sector to reach VND63.76 trillion ($2.7 billion) next year, while total telecommunications revenue will hit $21 billion. Total revenue in the digital economy is forecast to reach $30 billion, with growth of 20-25 per cent. The sector also expects to contribute $1.3 billion to the State budget.

Addressing the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the information and communications sector has played an increasingly important role amid Industry 4.0 as a driving force of the country’s development and innovation in the digital era.

2023 is an important year for the implementation of the socio-economic development plan for the 2021-2025 period, he went on, during which digital transformation will continue to be a major task in the country’s industrialization and modernization process.

The Prime Minister asked the ministry to focus on completing institutions regarding communications and digital transformation and providing telecommunications services to all corners of the country, especially remote, mountainous, island, and border areas.

He also requested that the ministry coordinate with other relevant ministries and sectors to build and regularly update a national database, while focusing on developing digital infrastructure with the commercialization of 5G services.

The sector also needs to pay greater attention to the development of the digital economy to better serve people and businesses and apply stronger measures to protect people in cyberspace while minimizing fake and toxic information on social networks, Prime Minister Chinh said.