A plan to develop a strong telecommunication industry, set to be approved this year will boost the use of information technology in government agencies, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said Friday.

He also ordered the Ministry of Information and Communications to improve training and infrastructure for the telecommunication industry, as well as develop strong telecom companies that are able to compete in the global market.

The ministry has to ensure that television reaches all households in the country, Dung said, noting that around six million families do not have access to television now.

A report released at the conference showed strong growth across the industry last year.

The post and telecommunication sector alone posted revenues of US$7.7 billion, up 61 percent from 2008. Meanwhile, the information technology sector reported a growth of 20 percent in revenues, reaching $6.26 billion last year.

Source: Thanh Nien, Agencies