Amazing network
According to Mr. Pham Anh Duc, Deputy General Director of Viettel Network Corporation, in preparation for the second DPRK-USA Summit held in Hanoi, Viettel had been tasked with providing Internet and electricity services, landline telephone and 2G, 3G and 4G services to ensure the "smooth" operational process of international and Vietnamese reporters.
Understanding the huge demand of some 3,000 reporters for Internet access and communications, Viettel had arranged 1,500 cable Internet terminals, nearly 100 landline telephones, 66 wifi hotspots, and deployed 10 small broadcasting stations at the International Media Center to provide the services. It also applied the latest technology to its wifi system to guarantee 4,000 people using the network simultaneously, while the cable Internet network could provide Internet connection at a speed of 10 times faster than that at local households.
Mr. Simon Owen, radio reporter, from the US Fox News, who was present at the International Media Center from February 24, 2019, showed his surprise at the high speed and stable connection of the Internet. He said that since he came to the center, he had frequently read news live as well as live-streamed pictures, but he had had no problem with the Internet. “Internet connection is great,” he stressed.
As a TV television reporter at South Korea’s TV Chosun, Yoo Jechyun often live-broadcast news from the International Media Center. He said that he used the Internet network to send reports in the form of online signals to his TV station in South Korea. “Thanks to the excellent Internet connection, I have done a good job,” he stressed, “In addition, Vietnamese technicians are always in a stand-by mood and very enthusiastic and helpful."
Meanwhile, Kristin Brown, reporter for Fox News, said that he had met a number of difficulties in adapting and synchronizing his equipment and devices with terminals in foreign countries. So he had prepared a number of adapters and Internet port switches before coming to Vietnam. “But when I connected my things to the networks at the International Media Center, they did not work. This made me so worried and confused. Fortunately, a technical team of Viettel knew my problem and came to fix it, and my machinery started working perfectly,” he told his story. He thanked Viettel for quick and efficient support.
Valentina Shvartsman, Russian reporter for the Sputnik, acknowledged that before arriving in Vietnam, she had not fancied that Vietnam could have had such a modern Internet network infrastructure. “Vietnam’s preparation for the DPRK-USA Hanoi Summit was perfect, and the International Media Center is great. We have been maximally supported. Internet connection is very fast and the technical staff is very professional and helpful,” said Shvartsman.
Excellent and supportive staff
It was not easy for Viettel to install the Internet connection networks (wifi and cable), a landline telephone network and a computer network at the International Media Center in a comparatively short time. When the group was officially entrusted by the Government to the mission, it mobilized its best specialists, technicians and workers to work around the clock and used its best equipment, devices and technologies for the networks and systems. It also drew up various plans for any possible problems regarding Internet connection, power, information technology, Internet-based data transmission and so on.
Furthermore, Viettel assigned a number of specialists and technical workers to being on duty around the clock at the International Media Center. These specialists and technical workers were always ready to support reporters if they had any problems. In fact, international reporters praised Viettel for not only its network infrastructure, but also the working attitude and professional expertise of its specialists and technical workers.
Before the DPRK-USA Hanoi Summit, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung had asked the company to use techniques and devise technological solutions to avoid network congestion and always ensure good Internet connection even if as many as 4,000 reporters worked at the same time.
Regarding the network security, Deputy General Director of Viettel Nguyen Thanh Nam said, “We has set up three security layers to ensure absolute safety for the networks. We have assigned 20 best network security and cyber security specialists to monitoring the networks 24 hours a day and addressing any problems with the networks. Earlier, Viettel in collaboration with the Department of Information Safety under the Ministry of Information and Communications conducted drills in responding to 30 assumed cyber-attack scenarios. So we believe that our specialists can address a minor problem in 1-2 minutes and a major problem in less than 10 minutes.”
With its effort to provide high-quality Internet connection and other related services for reporters at the International Media Center, Viettel has effectively supported reporters in delivering news about the DPRK-USA Hanoi Summit to the rest of the world, contributing to promoting its trademark as well as the country’s status in the world.
Translated by Thu Nguyen