changes in access

http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/dai/index.html
Fiiji, a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), is at a crossroads in its ICT evolution. The country's relative position in telecommunication penetration rankings has been declining over the last 30 years and to catch up, it needs to fully exploit the advantages it has. This include its strategic location in the Pacific and the fact that it headquarters of a number of regional organizations. Another strength is its English-speaking, literate population and the presence of the University of the South Pacific, a major regional tertiary educational institution. The decision to connect to the Southern Cross fibre optic undersea cable was forward looking and ensures the country an ample supply of bandwidth. It now needs the applications, services and growing market to exploit this.
Major barriers to becoming an information society are the lack of awareness about the benefits of ICTs to meet development needs, limited infrastructure, especially in rural areas, and the country's long-term telecommunication monopoly. The fact that there are different operators for each telecommunication segment (local, mobile, international and Internet) adds to higher pricing. With this market situation Fiji is missing the benefits that a more competitive telecom market would provide such as lower prices, better quality, enhanced innovation and greater customer focus. Fiji's mobile peak time call charges, for example, are among the highest in the world and given the current levels of coverage and tariffs mobile penetration (at around eleven percent) is probably close to saturation. Market liberalization and sector reform are crucial. A new telecommunication bill, calling for the establishment of a telecommunication regulator and a licensing framework, are under preparation.
In the ITU's Digital Access Index, which ranks 178 countries according to their ability to access ICTs, Fiji falls into the middle of the medium access group and ranks 85th. It compares well in terms of knowledge and affordability due to its relatively high literacy and school enrolment and flat rate local call pricing for dial-up Internet access. It does less well in infrastructure, usage and quality.
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/cs/fiji/index.html

Vietnam is one of the major emerging markets of the ASEAN region and one of the underpinnings of this growth has been the expansion in telecommunication networks. Over the past five years, Vietnam has sustained an average fixed line network growth of 26.8 per cent, slightly ahead of China and one of the highest in the region. While the country’s domestic fixed-line network has grown rapidly, mobile communications developments are less impressive. Despite the fact that mobile services were introduced in 1992, and even though it is one of the first parts of the sector where competition and private sector participation has been allowed, Vietnam has one of the lowest ratios of mobile to fixed line subscribers in South East Asia.
The government has attempted to reconcile the essentially free-market character of the Internet with a national system based on state control. Only few countries are protected by a national firewall or apply such tight licensing regulations to the ISP market, which is still largely state-owned in Vietnam. Despite a late start, (the Internet was first permitted in Vietnam in November1997), the dramatic growth that has marked the Internet in other countries is apparent also in Vietnam. During 2000, the number of dial-up Internet subscribers grew from just 42’000 to over 100’000, a growth rate of almost 150 per cent. An ITU mission, including Michael Minges, Tim Kelly, and Lara Srivastava, was carried out in Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City from May 14-17. The mission was coordinated with the Vietnam Department General of Posts and Telecommunications (DGPT).
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/cs/vietnam/index.html