In today’s large cities and urban areas, consumer preference for Internet access is heavily leaning towards ADSL – a broadband Internet service.
Dial-up Internet access has gradually lost its foothold as ADSL service providers continually reduce prices and offer various promotions such as free modems, free installation, and discounted monthly subscription fees for this service…
Making Way for ADSL
Currently, all ISPs acknowledge that the dial-up service is no longer a “juicy steak,” at least since early 2005, as the demand for ADSL among consumers is on the rise, and ISPs are positively adapting to meet this demand.
Moreover, ISPs aim not only to provide ADSL services to major cities. For instance, VDC’s MegaVNN service continually expands its DSLAMs to provinces, sometimes reaching as far as rural communes. In Ho Chi Minh City, VDC is also planning to extend ADSL coverage to new districts. FPT Telecom and Viettel are also working hard to “expand coverage” of ADSL in new residential areas in suburban districts. Mr. Truong Dinh Anh, director of FPT Telecom, does not hide his ambitions with plans for 2006: not only to enhance their reputation with consumers but also as a means to quickly recoup investments in the ADSL technical system.
According to our research, VDC’s dial-up revenue currently accounts for only 60-70% of its ADSL revenue. At FPT Telecom, a representative stated that dial-up revenue is now negligible. Meanwhile, at Viettel, in recent months, only customers interested in ADSL have been seen, with hardly anyone registering for dial-up.
Struggling!
However, despite their intentions, ISPs cannot completely abandon dial-up services immediately. They must wait for customers to leave first. FPT Telecom announced that it will not develop any new dial-up subscriptions starting in early 2006, while other ISPs indicated they would try to maintain this service for as long as possible.
Netnam, considered the weakest ISP, is still making efforts to retain dial-up customers by launching a prepaid card valued at 150,000 VND with flexible usage within a month. Saigon Postel Telecom (SPT) has also introduced a round-the-clock dial-up package valued at 100,000 VND aimed at customers unable to use ADSL.
These may be the last efforts of weaker ISPs, but deep down, these ISPs are no longer enthusiastic about this service. According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Cang (Netnam’s technical department in Ho Chi Minh City), Netnam is gradually shifting its dial-up service to provinces, while in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, it will focus on value-added services like website design and Internet applications.
Meanwhile, with its advantage in infrastructure and nationwide coverage, VDC continues to accept registrations and provide dial-up services in areas without ADSL.
As for predictions regarding the decline of dial-up, Mr. Cang remarked: “It may only be a few years away“.
To be fair, with a maximum download speed of 56Kbps (theoretical conditions), dial-up can only support small applications like PC-to-phone or PC-to-PC calls, and sending and receiving emails, while users increasingly need applications with higher bandwidth. The demise of dial-up is nothing surprising!
