Opening of the first international land cable line owned by Vietnam: A breakthrough in creating national digital infrastructure

On the afternoon of August 4, 2025, in Hanoi, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) officially launched and operated the VSTN international land cable line - the first cable line connecting directly from Vietnam to Singapore entirely via land.

With a total length of about 3,900 km, the VSTN international land cable line passes through 5 countries: Vietnam - Laos - Thailand - Malaysia - Singapore, built entirely on land and directly connecting from VNPT 's technical center in Da Nang to the region's leading international data centers such as: IDC Telehouse (Thailand), MY01 Cyberjaya, Equinix JH01 Johor Bahru (Malaysia), Equinix and Global Switch (Singapore). This is the first cable line 100% owned by Vietnamese people, marking an important milestone in the journey to national telecommunications infrastructure autonomy.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung and delegates performed the opening ceremony of the VSTN international land cable line.

VNPT’s direct control of the entire route from Vietnam to Singapore, from start to finish, not only ensures independent operation but also helps to quickly handle incidents. In the context of continuous and prolonged submarine cable incidents, affecting the quality of Internet services and international connections, VSTN plays the role of an important backup route, strategically supplementing existing submarine cable routes, increasing the stability, initiative and safety of the national telecommunications infrastructure.

VSTN uses modern wavelength-multiplexed DWDM transmission equipment - one of the most advanced technologies today. Each wavelength can transmit a minimum capacity of 300 Gbps; the total designed capacity of the entire line is up to 4 Tbps and can be easily upgraded to 12 Tbps or more. This helps VSTN not only meet current needs but also be ready for strong developments in the near future.

This is not only a pioneering telecommunications project but also a clear demonstration of the national strategic vision of proactive connectivity, increased flexibility, security and the ability to respond to all incidents; at the same time, it marks a strong transformation of VNPT in mastering multi-modal international connectivity infrastructure: from the ground, across the sea, in space. With this VSTN optical cable line, Vietnam is no longer completely dependent on submarine cables.

VSTN land cable route diagram invested by VNPT.

Speaking at the ceremony, VNPT General Director Huynh Quang Liem said that in 2009, VNPT first participated in the submarine optical cable line - the AAG line with a capacity of 220 Gbps - one of the first submarine optical cable lines in Vietnam. In 2009 and 2012, VNPT officially operated two satellite systems Vinasat-1 and Vinasat-2 to serve domestic and international civil needs and serve the country's national security and defense.

To date, VNPT owns and participates in the exploitation of the international transmission infrastructure system with 5 important submarine optical cable lines such as AAG, APG, AAE-1... and most recently SJC-2, increasing the total exploitation capacity to nearly 36 Terabit/second. Thanks to this infrastructure system, VNPT is considered one of the units with comprehensive transmission infrastructure capacity in Vietnam and in the region.

Mr. Huynh Quang Liem emphasized, "The VSTN international land cable is a concrete step, demonstrating VNPT's determination in implementing the Party and Government 's policy on continuing to innovate, improving the efficiency of state-owned enterprises, opening up new development space, requiring VNPT to play a pioneering role, leading the development of national and regional digital infrastructure".

In the context of international submarine cables frequently experiencing problems - an average of more than 10 problems per year from 2022 to present - leading to network congestion, reduced connection quality, and even a loss of up to 73% of international capacity as VNPT once encountered, VSTN becomes an important "safety valve", contributing to reducing the load on submarine cables and improving the reliability of the national telecommunications system.

The cable route is controlled throughout the entire route - from the starting point to the destination - helping VNPT to proactively operate and promptly handle any incidents without depending on external factors. This is also an important link in the strategy of developing a multi-modal transmission infrastructure: from land, across the sea, to space that VNPT is deploying with increasingly comprehensive capacity.

"The successful operation of VSTN once again affirms that Vietnamese people are fully capable of mastering the most modern, complex and secure technological infrastructures. This is not only a new transmission line, but also a foundation to improve the reliability of the international network, ready to respond to all situations and expand customer service capacity in the digital age," Mr. Huynh Quang Liem emphasized.

In the coming time, VSTN cable line will continue to be invested in and developed to become a lifeline connecting many international POP internet add/drop points in Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, to form a stable, effective and safest transmission lifeline in Southeast Asia.

VNPT Group General Director Huynh Quang Liem spoke at the Ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung acknowledged and highly appreciated VNPT's pioneering efforts: "It has been nearly 30 years since Vietnam first participated in the TDH international cable line (in 1996), but to date, this is the first line 100% invested by Vietnamese people. The opening of the VSTN cable line is not only a technical breakthrough but also demonstrates a strong spirit of attack in creating Vietnam's digital infrastructure."

According to the Minister, the formation of the trans-ASEAN land cable invested by Vietnam is a vivid demonstration of a closely connected digital ASEAN and a Vietnam proactively creating digital infrastructure. "Vietnam's digital infrastructure will continue to develop towards ultra-wide bandwidth, super-large capacity, universality, intelligence, open technology, safety, sustainability and greenness," the Minister expressed his hope.

The Minister emphasized that when telecommunications becomes the foundation of the digital economy, diversifying connections, especially through land routes with the ability to recover quickly, is a mandatory requirement. The Minister hopes that domestic telecommunications enterprises will continue to invest more strongly to form an international fiber optic ecosystem owned by Vietnam, bringing the national digital infrastructure to develop firmly and sustainably in the face of all global fluctuations.

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung spoke at the ceremony.

The event is not only an important milestone for VNPT, but also has strategic significance for the country, contributing to affirming Vietnam's technological position in the region, promoting digital ASEAN connectivity, and at the same time expanding new development space for the country's digital infrastructure in the digital economic era.

Delegates exchanged memorandums of understanding on VSTN use.

Center for Science and Technology Communication

Source: https://mst.gov.vn/khai-truong-tuyen-cap-dat-quoc-te-dau-tien-do-viet-nam-lam-chu-buoc-dot-pha-trong-kien-tao-ha-tang-so-quoc-gia-197250804203112779.htm