The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has published a report ranking Vietnam number 81 in a development index.

Titled Measuring the Information Society 2011, the report included the ICT Development Index (IDI) and the ICT Price Basket (IPB).

Vietnam moved up 10 places on the IDI list with value increases of 2.76 in 2008 to 3.53 in 2010.

The IDI figures are divided into three sub-indices rating access, use and skills. Vietnam saw growth in the use category which reflected the rise in broadband internet subscribers from zero in 2008 to 13 per 100 inhabitants in 2010.

Vietnam also jumped 16 places in the access sub-index compared to 2008 and now ranks 12 in the Asia-Pacific region.It was listed as third place among 10 countries which experienced the highest IDI growth rates during the 2008-10 period, after Armenia and Morocco.

According to the report, the 3G services launched in late 2009 have contributed to doubling mobile subscriptions in two years.

Vinaphone said the availability of high-speed 3G services such as mobile internet games, multimedia, mobile-TV and online news together with the popularity of smart phones, had all contributed to the country\'s mobile-broadband success.

The promotion in the ICT rankings is an encouragement to Vietnam\'s telecommunications sector, and the Ministry of Information and Communications has recently approved applications of five companies seeking to run a 4G mobile network, which will be the next step in the country\'s telecommunications development.

In a working visit to Vietnam, ITU secretary general Hamadoun Toure said Vietnam had favorable conditions to apply 4G technology, since broadband was widely available and the Government would play an important role in helping services develop.

The ITU, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is an organisation tied to the United Nations, charged with monitoring standards of telecommunications.

The report looked in detail at broadband development and presented new data on subscriptions, speed and bandwidth.