The government
has also realized the internet and its potential. As interest in the
country increases so has the number of official government websites
offering more information on topics such as travel/tourism, investment,
business development, and import/export. Government commercial enterprises,
several privately owned businesses, as well as, NGO supported businesses
now have their own websites to advertise their Lao goods and services
- some with e-commerce capabilities.
Government.
The Lao government has taken on many projects to encourage its IT
industry, IT internal infrastructure and IT education at its university.
However there are core problems that still remain including a lack
of technology, financial resources and proper teaching tools. On this
issue the government receives foreign aid to help run its IT projects.
Internet in
Laos.
In Laos there are approximately 2000-2500 internet subscribers. However
the number of non-subscriber internet users have not been accounted
for. They probably comprise the largest number of users. They include
students accessing the internet from school, people accessing the
net from work or internet cafes. According to the CIA World Factbook
there are 10,000 internet users in Laos.
The internet is
accessible by many government departments, a few university faculties
at the National University of Laos (NUOL) and to those who visit internet
cafes or who personally subscribe to an internet service provider
(ISP) and dial-up locally or dial-up into Thailand. It has been observed
that the majority of internet users tend to be young Laotians, expatriates
and foreigners. Although the number of middle aged Lao users continue
to grow.
There are currently
three major ISPs in Laos. They include LaoTel, GlobeNet and PlanetOnline
(which is Australian owned). The government-backed LaoTel currently
holds the largest share of the market with more than 2/3rds of all
subscribers. Since internet access is still limited and the market
small, all of these companies have other services in order to keep
afloat and competitive. Their other business services may include
offering seminars, creating websites or local area networks (LANs),
mobile or general phone services, etc.
There have been
numerous smaller ISPs and internet cafes that have sprung up all over
the major cities, primarily in Vientiane. The increased use of the
internet for making long distance and overseas phone calls
has also accelerated the popularity of the internet. A visit to the
internet cafe for an hour is typically less than $1USD (only within
the city downtown core does the price exceed this).
Currently most
internet usage comes from those in Vientiane, however those from outside
are also connecting but must do so through long distance dial-up to
the capital. The LaoTel connection is with SingTel through satellite
(512k bps speed).
ISP licenses are
granted by the Ministry of Information and Commerce.
Censorship.
There is said to be censorship but this remains very laxed as the
government does not have the resources to implement controls and the
fact that many ISPs and internet cafes receive their connections from
Thailand.
