The award acknowledges Viettel’s nearly two-decade effort to expand digital connectivity across Vietnam’s education system, particularly in rural, mountainous, and island areas where limited access to technology once posed major barriers to learning and development.
Launched in 2008 in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Training, the School Internet Project began at a time when Vietnam’s internet penetration rate stood at around 24%, and in rural areas was below 1%. Tens of thousands of schools lacked internet access, leaving teachers and students with minimal exposure to digital learning resources, online education platforms, and modern teaching methods.
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Viettel has not only deployed broadband internet infrastructure for schools, but also built a comprehensive digital education ecosystem. |
With the guiding belief that investing in education is investing in the nation’s future, Viettel has gone beyond providing broadband connections to schools. The Group has built a comprehensive digital education ecosystem that includes fiber-optic connectivity; information technology infrastructure, such as data centers and cloud computing; information security solutions; video conferencing systems; and online learning platforms including ViettelStudy, K12Online, EduPortal, and SmartLMS.
After 17 years of continuous implementation, the project has made significant social impact. Nearly 40,000 educational institutions, about 92% of all schools nationwide, have been connected to the internet, enabling some 25 million students, teachers, and lecturers to access online resources. The initiative has contributed to raising Vietnam’s internet usage rate from 15% to 85%, helping place the country among the world’s top 20 nations by the number of internet users.
Beyond connectivity figures, the project has played a critical role in narrowing the digital divide in education. Students in remote and disadvantaged areas can now participate in online learning, take exams, and access national digital learning repositories like their peers in urban centers. Teachers have also been trained in digital skills, supporting gradual innovation in teaching methods and improvements in educational quality.
The project’s impact has extended beyond Vietnam. As part of its Go Global strategy, Viettel has expanded the School Internet model to several international markets where it operates telecommunications infrastructure. In countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Burundi, and Peru, the Group has worked with local governments and educational institutions to deliver broadband internet to thousands of schools, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach areas. These initiatives have been localized to suit national conditions, covering infrastructure deployment, equipment provision, teacher training in digital skills, and the development of online learning platforms aligned with local curricula.
With the total investment nearing VND 2 trillion, the School Internet Project is not only a corporate social responsibility initiative, but also a core component of Viettel’s sustainable development strategy, closely linked to human development, digital workforce building, and national digital transformation in education.
The Award of the Year at the Human Act Prize 2025 affirms the lasting value of an initiative grounded in education, empowered by technology, and centered on people, reflecting Viettel’s long-term commitment to expanding opportunity, knowledge, and hope for future generations.
Translated by Chung Anh