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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 phonpasit@nast.gov.la

I. Overview of ICT development in Laos

Currently there are 1,597,276 landline and mobile phone subscribers, or 28 telephone units

per 100 persons. This tele-density indicates rapid growth, as it is much higher than the

government target of 15 telephones per 100 persons. There are 145,857 PSTN subscribers,

almost the same number as in 2006 (145,792 subscribers). But the number of GSM

subscribers increased by 55 percent from 776,236 in 2006 to 1,401,419 in 2007, while the

number of CDMA subscribers increased by 28 percent from 14,152 in 2006 to 50,000 in

2007. The rapid growth is due to the affordable price of mobile handsets from China as well

as the intense competition among mobile phone operators. There are 1,283 dial-up Internet

subscribers, 2,820 ADSL Internet subscribers, 198 satellite Internet subscribers (IPSTAR)

and 33 leased line Internet subscribers. ETL Company also provides mobile Internet access

via GPRS to around 20,000 customers. Millicom Company provides mobile Internet access

via EDGE network to approximately 50,000 customers. Planet ISP provides Internet access

via its wireless network in Vientiane to around 2,000 permanent customers.

There are around 400 Internet cafés in Vientiane and around 600 Internet cafés nationwide.

Most Internet cafés have 10-20 PCs and they cater mostly to young people who like to play

online games and do online chatting. Some hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and travel

companies also provide Internet access as an additional service.

ICT survey of 25 government offices in Vientiane established a ratio of about two

government officers per one computer. Sixteen ministry offices have set up a Local Area

Network and 1,832PCs are connected to the Internet. Most of the ministries have Internet

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access via the national e-government infrastructure, with around 2,000 government staff

accessing the Internet daily. Some ministries are almost totally computerized, such as the

Bank of Lao headquarters with 300 PCs for around 350 employees (85 percent) and the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs with 600 PCs for around 800 employees (75 percent). On the

other hand, the Ministry of Public Security headquarters has only 60 PCs for 500 employees

(12 percent) and the Ministry of Information and Culture has 155 PCs for 500 employees (31

percent).

Only three percent of companies (3,910 out of 126,913) use computers to enhance their

business. The level of computer utilization also varies among different business sectors, with

science and technology companies, education companies, electronic and electric companies,

finance and accounting companies, construction companies and service companies utilizing

computers more than others. Agricultural companies use computers the least. Only 0.9

percent of companies have Internet access, while only 0.3 percent has a website.

Among NGOs, 3.8 percent (397 out of 10,434) use computers, 0.9 percent have Internet

access and 0.2 percent have a website. The academic institutions use ICT facilities. The

National University of Laos (NUOL) has 1,000 PCS for 10,000 enrolees, while other

technical colleges have three to five computer labs with 30 PCs in each lab. In primary

schools there is very little use of ICT facilities, which are usually reserved for administrators

and teachers’ use only.

II. Initiatives for Telecenter development in Laos

1. IDRC help to set up the first Telecenter in Laos

The first multi-purpose Telecenter was set up in 2003 in the City of Luang Prabang with the full financial support from International Development Research Center of Canada (IDRC). The ultimate goal of the project is to ‘help create opportunities and reduce poverty’ by utilizing the benefits of connecting rural communities and integrating ICT in their daily activities. The project is on track to meet its objectives in introducing ICT to the population of LUANG PRABANG. The centre is running at full capacity. However, the introduction began at ground zero to accommodate the lack of basic computer and English language skills of the target groups. The centre, nick named “e-Way”, is open and being utilized 7 days a week. There is a long queue of people who have signed up to attend the courses being given at the

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e-Way Centre. The centre is actively supporting training to increase the number of people in the community with basic computer skills and English language competence. During the three year of project duration the Center has been trained over thousand trainees, which contributed for the ICT development of the province such as: The number of computer training school was increase above 10 number, which 1/3 of school owner has been trained at the e-way center as well as at least one teacher from each training school has been training here also; The number of Internet café has been creased for more then 50 numbers. Especially the small shop, restaurant or single house is also operating the Internet café as the second business service in their house. The major of owner were also got trained from the e-way center. And around 50% of Internet users at the Internet café are Laotian, especially the Independent tour guide and young people. However the e-way did not achieved the full objectives, especially not be the place for the information access and dissemination for grass root people in the Luang Prabang, because the e-way has never had internet access due to of an inability to afford the fees (telephone charges around 400 USD per month, while income is around 100USD per month). Potentially the telecenter can sustain itself, but opinions differ between local government and project personnel on the management of the telecenter. Not much people use it at present; it is used mostly for computer training. The management has been revamped towards the end of 2004 and the telecenter is now intended for small-business people, offering telephone and fax facilities. The services have not yet been extended to rural areas as envisaged. 2. India help to set up 10 rural Telecenter in Laos

In 2006, the National Informatics Center of India has established 10 Rural Telecenter (RTC)

in seven provinces of Laos with the full financial support from the government of India. The

RTCs are a means to utilize ICTs to raise the socio-economic conditions of the people of Lao

PDR, particularly those in remote areas along the Mekong River. Aside from connecting the

rural communities to the rest of the country and the world, the RTCs should help the

concerned provincial governments plan and implement ICT-supported citizen-centric

applications.

Each one RTC was installed in Luang Prabang, Xayabury, Vieniane Province, Khammuane,

Savannakhet, Saravane and Champasack provinces and three RTCs in the capital Vientiane

(one RTC each at the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural

Development Authority Office). Each RTC has equipped with a server, five computers, a

scanner, a laser printer, a Web camera and broadband Internet connection.

To ensure the sustainable operation of the RTC, a Steering Committee and district

implementation committee have been established. The Steering Committee consists of

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representatives of the National Authority for Science and Technology, Ministry of

Agriculture, Ministry of Public Health, Rural Development Authority and Office of the

Provincial Governor. The RTC district implementation committee consists of the

representative of the district governor’s office, agriculture district office, health district office,

and rural development district office. This committee will closely monitor the setting up of

the RTCs. The district committee will also be responsible for evolving guidelines that will

ensure the accessibility of the RTC to all citizens, promote the RTC in the community, and

provide for the management of the village community portal, content management, updating

and maintenance to ensure the sustainable operation of the RTC. Appropriate training

programmes will be conducted for RTC service providers and users. It is recognized that for

the RTC to work for the people in the district, community-based ICT development should be

implemented.

3. ADB help to set up e-Health Centres

The Asia Development Bank (ADB) has funded the pilot project on e-Centres for better

health. 5 PCs with the Internet connection has been installed in 8 hospitals and 8 healthcare

centres in Xiengkhong and Savannakhet provinces of Laos. In addition Ministry of Public

Health are engaged to development the healthcare website in Lao, English and French

language, which will allow the doctors and patients in hospital and healthcare centres to

obtain the necessary health information for better provide the healthcare service in their

hospitals. The ministry also developed the CD-Room contenting all related healthcare

information and distributed to the hospital and healthcare centres in order to provide the

lessons learn to the patients about health issues. The project just kicks off in 2009 and

schedules to be complete on 2010.

4. Word-Link help to setup the School Network

World Links, Jhai Foundation and the Ministry of Education agreed to implement the World

Links Program in Lao PDR as part of the World Bank-Japan Social Development Fund

ASEAN SchoolNet Project Grant for the period July 2007 to July 2008. The overall goal of

the World Links Program is to provide Lao PDR secondary schools and the Ministry of

Education with sustainable solutions for mobilizing necessary technologies, skills and

educational resources to prepare students and teachers to enter the Information Age.

The World Links Program has established computer labs in 10 secondary schools. The labs also have Internet access. A series of training workshops in computer literacy and teaching

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and learning with computers and the Internet has been held for a total of 30 teachers of various subject areas (e.g. mathematics, science, history) in the 10 schools.

III. Laos E-Government Project In November 2006, the government of Laos allocated USD 35 million from a Chinese

concession loan for the implementation of phase one of the National e-Government Project.

The National Authority for Science and Technology has been authorised to cooperate with

Alcatel Shanghai Bell Co., LTD in the two-year project implementation from November

2007 to November 2009.

The National e-Government Project aims to foster collaboration among government

institutions to ensure efficient and effective delivery of public services and to enable the

government to be more responsive to the needs of citizens and the business community. A

special focus is making government services more accessible to citizens in the rural areas.

The project has the following components:

a) Establish the e-government info-communication infrastructure consisting of:

• An IP backbone with a 2.5 Gbps capacity to connect the national e-government centre

to the telecom operators and some major ministries (i.e. the Prime Minister’s Office,

Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Public Security);

• A fibre optic link to 50 ministries in Vientiane and ADSL cable connection for 75

other government offices;

• 10 WiMAX base stations covering 20 square kilometres of Vientiane municipality

and connecting to 250 government offices;

• A fibre optic link to 16 provincial governor’s offices and 16 e-government provincial

centres; and

• One WiMAX base station in 16 provincial capital cities to connect to 10 government

offices in each province within the total 160 offices.

b) Acquire IT computing equipment for government organizations, including:

• a National E-Government Centre with three computer training laboratories (with 30

PCs per lab), a network operation centre and a national data centre;

• an e-Government Provincial Centre in each of the 16 provinces to house a computer

training room (with 10 PCs), an Internet room (10 PCs), a network room (for

WiMAX) and some public service rooms;

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• IT facilities for each of the 126 ministry offices in Vientiane, including one server, 10

PCs, a teleconference room and a local area network connected to the national e-

government infrastructure; and

• IT facilities for the district and provincial department offices (200 offices) consisting

of three PCs and one printer connected via a LAN and connected to the national e-

government infrastructure.

c) Develop e-government applications that are appropriate, cost-effective and based on

standards of interoperability. The seven key applications under the National e-

Government Project are the e-archive, e-register, e-document, e-map, e-learning and a

teleconference system, and a national portal.

d) Enhance human resource development through training programs for ICT specialists, ICT

engineers, content providers and end-users. The targets are to train 40 ICT engineers for

the national E-Government Service Center, 300 ICT engineers from various ministries

and 1,500 government personnel from various organizations.

Outcomes of the project

• It is now convenient in information management at various offices which received

electronic equipment, local area network has been set up, the internal database has been

developed, and providing e-document, e-Archive

• Inter-organizational reporting has become convenient such as from departments to

ministry, provinces to central, and under e-Document any section can report to an upper

authority electronically. The report can be electronically sent to any point, any person. In

addition, the teleconference system allows the central and local organizations to convene

meeting without having to travel to a particular place together.

• Establish and facilitate communications and information exchanges among public

organizations, 130 public organizations at the central level have been connected through

the optical line with a speed of 155 Mbps, 250 public organizations at Vientiane Capital

level have been connected through WyMax, 16 provincial governance offices have been

connected by the optical line through networks of Lao-Asia Telecommunication and 160

district offices and provincial departments are connected through WyMax so that each

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office can communicate and exchange information directly with other offices. In

addition, each ministry and departments and agencies which are interrelated can make

their own information exchange routes. For example, at the moment finance divisions of

all ministries within Vientiane Capital can submit reports and budget plans through e-

Government network to budgetary department of Ministry of Finance. This makes it

convenient for the budgetary department because it does not have to key the data into the

computer. After that the budgetary department can inform the budget for each month to

all financial divisions and at the same time it can transfer salary to employees to their

accounts at the bank.

• Make it convenient for public organizations to provide services electronically to business

people and society as a whole. Based on e-Registration it is convenient for public

organizations to establish an electronic registration system so that business people and

ordinary people, regardless of where they are, can have access to the e-Government and

get application, submit an application and receive response to the request from the office

responsible for handling registration service before travelling to the office to pick up the

permission.

• Make it convenient to disseminate information by public offices because they can

disseminate their information electronically. Particularly, using e-Portal, public offices

can establish their own websites so that they can disseminate their information via

website.

• Make it convenient for business people and ordinary people to have access to

information sources electronically. Particularly, using e-Archive ordinary people and

business people can view documents in the archive and disseminate them as needed.

With e-Map, people can also look up for address and location of a particular office.

• Establish sustainable and continuous learning environment so that schools can establish

distant teaching and learning through an electronic network. With eLearning, schools

can improve teaching curriculum and using it in eLearning. The students can also

register their enrollment at a particular school or select a particular course, time and

location.

• Make it convenient for public offices to view information of international organizations

via internet system; each office can have an access to internet through the national

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network or upon its own needs to use a high speed service, a particular office can have

access to services of telecommunications companies which are connected to e-

Government.

• Leaders can keep up with information and reports domestically and internationally.

• Improve information technology knowledge for public offices.

IV. Conclusion

It is now relatively easier for Lao people to have access to computers and the Internet. Local

businesses are using computers and the Internet not only to find information but also to find

more business opportunities (i.e. clients, suppliers and business partners). Because of the

improved telecommunication infrastructure that allows for reliable Internet connection, some

business organizations can host their own websites and email servers and manage their own

information systems. Some end users in Laos also have experience in online shopping and

they want to set up online stores. The Government of Lao PDR is aware of the role of ICT in

industrialization and modernization, as well as in improving the quality of government

service and administration. This is why it is undertaking the National e-Government Project.

However, Lao PDR needs to build the necessary national information infrastructure, increase

investment in the ICT sector, develop skilled human resources, and engage in more IT

research and development. Private investment in the country is currently confined to telecom

services and IT training. The production of low-technology IT goods like IT entertainment

goods, IT components like passive and electro-mechanical components, and IT enabled

services is worth exploring. There is also a need to develop the public’s awareness and

understanding of the role of ICT in development. Awareness programs for various sectors

should be considered.

An adequate supply of trained human resources is needed not only to generate locally

relevant content and ensure effective use of ICTs, but also to enable the country to participate

in IT-enabled services. For this reason, a greater investment in IT human resource

development in Lao PDR is vital.