Status of ICT development in Lao PDR
- 1. Regional Workshop on Knowledge-hubs in Asia-Pacific Region Nanjing, China, 8-10 September 2009 Telecenter Development in Laos Mr. Phonpasit PHISSAMAY Director General Information technology Research Institute National Authority for Science and Technology
- 2. Outline • Laos facts (ICT) • Telecenter initiatives • E-Government Project • Conclusion
- 3. Laos Fact • Total population 5.62 Million • Rural population 69 % • GDP per capita USD 850 • Literacy rate 85% • Tele-density 28 % • Telephone lines per 100 inhabitants 2.59 • Cell phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants 25.4 • Computers per 100 inhabitants 1.7 • Internet users per 100 inhabitants 2.3 • Internet hosts per 10,000 inhabitants 0.022 • Internet cafes per 10,000 inhabitants 0.71
- 4. First Telecenter Project in Laos • Name: E-Way • Location: Luang Prabang Province (UNESCO Heritage City) • Funded by: International Development Research Center (250,000 $) • Implemented by: National Authority for Science and Technology • Objective: – Internet access for the Local communities people – Computer and English training center – Content creation and distribution for the Local communities • Service Operation: – 2003-2005: Participate Development Training Center (Local NGO) – 2006: Science and Technology Provincial office Luang Prabang – 2007: Stop operation and give the equipment to school.
- 5. Barriers of e-Way • High cost of Internet connection (400$ per month) • Ownership • High salary for the Telecenter manager and staffs • Low participation from the local communities people • Low income generation we could not make the e-way sustainable operation, but we very glad to see the ICT growth in the province: More private Internet café More computer training schools More local people using Internet for communication
- 6. Rural Telecenters Project • Funded by: Government of India (500,000 USD) • Location: – 7 centers in 7 provinces along Mekong river (3 local administration, 2 schools and 2 Public-private) – 3 centers in Vientiane Capital (ministry of public health, agriculture and rural development authority: (www.telecentter.gov.la and www.talath.gov.la ) • Objective: – Information provider (floating, agriculture, healthcare, community project and etc) – Support the distribution of local products • Service operation: – 2006: installation and training for the Center operator – 2007: Self operation by the Telecenter operator with the project subsidized for the Internet connection until December 2008. The status in 2009 • Public-Private Telecenter still continue the operation • Local administration reserved for Internal use only • School has converted to training room and disconnected from Internet
- 7. Barriers of Rural Telecenter • Still high cost of Internet connection (400$ per month) • No income for the local administration and school Telecenters, while public-private make great income from tourism business. • Content are poor and not regular update by the content provider in Vientiane. • Telecenter is lack of its own program to make the equipments more useful.
- 8. e-Health Center Project • Funded by: Asia Development Bank (500,000 USD) • Location: 8 Hospital and 8 Healthcare centers in two provinces • Objective: – Healthcare Information provider (www.health-Center.gov.la) – Create the Database for hospital and healthcare center • Service operation: Project just started in 2009 and schedule to completed by 2011.
- 9. National E-Government Project • Establish the e-Gov service center (1+16) • Establish the e-Gov infrastructure • Computerization government offices (130+160+250) • Development e-Service application (7) • Human Resource Development (40+300+900+3000) (35 millions, 2007-2009)
- 10. National E-Government Infrastructure WIMAX WIMAX Data Center Data Center OFC OFC Application Application Servers Servers Core Routers Core Routers FE FE 7750 SR7 7750 SR7 Vientiane Fiber Fiber Layer 2 Switch Layer 2 Switch 7250 T5C 7250 T5C LAT National 16 Governor offices STM1 STM1 N GE N GE Backbone 16 E-gov provincial E-gov Edge Routers service centers Edge Routers Vientiane Vientiane transmission transmission 2.5G SDH 2.5G SDH Edge Routers Edge Routers WIMAX WIMAX MW MW STM 1 STM 1 WIMAXv WIMAXv STM1 STM1 WIMAX WIMAX 25 district and 160 provincial divisions • 2.5 Gbps backbone between NAST-MOD NAST- NAST-MOD •155 Mbps OFC connecting to 51 ministries offices in Vientiane •155 •2 Mbps ADSL connecting to 28 ministries office in Vientiane •2 WIMAX WIMAX Dial-Up/ISDN Dial- Dial-Up/ISDN 200 Village Offices 100 VIP houses in Vientiane
- 11. E-Gov application • National e-Gov Portal (www.laos.la) • E-Archive • E-Document • E-Registration • E-Map • E-Learning • Teleconference
- 12. Conclusion • In country such as Laos, with so many pressing basic development needs, it is not surprising that attempts at establish Internet connectivity and E-business have been hampered by a general lack of skills and resource, Low levels of PC penetration, combined with poor telecommunication network with also slow the process. • There is currently a high level of interest in ICT development in the country. ICT implementations and strategies, and the allocation of resources, from the government, donors, and the private sectors, towards ICT development are reflected in existing ICT related projects focusing on human resources development, governance, administration, and information management.