Vietnam Rural Broadband Internet Roll-Out: Rural Resident Voices Versus Mainstream Depictions

• In Event: Critical Data Studies: Ethics and Human Contexts of Data Science III

Abstract

In developing countries, Information and Communication Technology failures pose a significant problem that can be attributed to a top-down approach that excludes technology users in the shaping and usage of technology in global south. This is particularly the case in Vietnam where the state recently approved a national information and communication plan in 2011. The plan included the building of a $400 million broadband network infrastructure intended to link all smallest administrative units in rural Vietnam by 2015.The country did not meet this goal and extended the deadline to 2020. Theories of social construction of technology have strongly developed and influenced science and technology studies; however, only a limited number of studies adopted the theories in non-western contexts. This paper will extend theories about relationships and interactions between technology and society to make them more applicable for a developing world. The paper also draws on critical constructivism to highlight lay users’ stances and contributions in forming a technology that responds to their spectrum of needs. The methodology is two-fold: qualitative content analysis of newspapers over the past 10 years and relevant government policy documents about broadband internet in the country; and interviews and focus groups with 79 rural residents in six provinces. Preliminary results showed mainstream documents depicted this group of users as “know-nots” who possess urgent needs of desktop computers, access, and training to use internet to contribute to the country’s modernization and economic growth. Meanwhile, none of the interviewees had heard of the government’s multimillion dollar plan, and few understood what broadband meant, though they were using the internet frequently. The paper argues that villagers’ creative appropriation helped make broadband internet respond better to the users’ local needs and choices and actualize their expansive realization.

Author

• Trang Pham, University of Calgary, Department of Communication, Media and Film