The Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in Hanoi has welcomed a new addition to its research and development (R &D) zone — Vietnam’s first Internet of Things (IoT) Innovation Hub.
Set up in collaboration with Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson, the hub is expected to provide a platform for startups and to speed up research and development in IoT, especially within the context of Industry 4.0, according to a report in the Vietnamese government website.
“Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh said the centre will help connect and provide platforms to support innovation in startup firms, as well as create a learning environment for tech-savvy youngsters,” the report said.
Mobile operators, businesses, students, researchers will also benefit from the support they will receive in the commercialization of products.
The government report noted that the launch of the center coincides with the celebration of the 50th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Sweden diplomatic ties.
Denis Brunetti, President of Ericsson Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, was quoted in the report as saying that the “operation of the centre will help promote cooperation between the two nations.”
Ericsson affirmed in a news release that the establishment of the Hub follows the Strategic Innovation Partnership Agreement signed by Brunett and Chu Ngoc Anh, Minister of Science & Technology in Vietnam in November 2018.
The Minister graced the inauguration ceremony of the IoT Innovation Hub and said that the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park where the hub is based can become a miniature economic model of Vietnam, based on innovation and Industry 4.0.
"Therefore, with the launch today, the IoT Innovation Hub will be one of the important channels bringing alive and strengthening the development objectives of Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park," he said.
Things are looking up for Vietnam. Data from the World Bank shows that GDP reached an all-time high in 2017 at $223.78 billion.
Bloomberg reported recently that "foreign direct investment in Vietnam has climbed for six consecutive years; the economy is humming, with a growth rate of about 7 percent.” It said the country is also emerging as a "winner" in the trade war between the US and China.
On May 10, 2019, Vietnamese telecommunications operators Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group piloted the first call using 5G technology, the government website reported. During the piolot, the mobile internet speed reportedly reached 1.5-1.7 Gigabits per second.
