In Vietnam’s mountainous regions, digital transformation is creating more than connectivity - it is opening new pathways out of poverty.
From places once known as communication dead zones, new waves are gradually reaching mountain peaks. These are not only telecommunications signals, internet connections and digital data streams, but also waves of knowledge, new governance methods and development opportunities flowing deep into remote villages.
From communities perched high among vast mountain ranges and located dozens of kilometers from commune centers, geographical barriers are steadily being reduced through technology. These new digital waves not only connect people to the outside world but also bring government policies closer to citizens, replacing paper notebooks and the long journeys once required of grassroots officials.
The series "Digital Waves on the Mountain Peaks" documents these changes - where technology is crossing mountains and overcoming geographical barriers to connect remote regions with the country’s broader development journey. Behind every transmission tower, broadband connection and digital database lies a shared determination to ensure that no community is left behind.
In ethnic minority and mountainous regions, digital transformation is no longer simply about internet infrastructure or technological devices. Touches on smartphone screens are gradually becoming bridges connecting people with knowledge, markets and new development opportunities. As a result, many households are finding new livelihoods and improving their lives while remaining on their ancestral land.
When new digital waves meet the desire for a better life
Smartphone screens are gradually becoming bridges connecting ethnic minority communities with knowledge, markets and new economic opportunities. Photo: Tuan Anh
In Na Nam Village, Bat Xat Commune, Lao Cai Province, Ly Lao Su, a Dao man born in 1996, has become a model entrepreneur in his community.
His rosy-cheeked bamboo rat farming operation not only provides a stable income for his family but is also opening a new path for economic development in the highlands.
Few would have imagined that Ly Lao Su’s journey into raising what locals call the animal that “eats bamboo and produces money” began while casually browsing his phone during breaks from his job operating excavators far from home.
On April 30, 2026, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 777/QD-TTg approving the Public Telecommunications Service Program through 2030. One key component of the program is support for 400,000 mobile phones for poor and near-poor households in particularly disadvantaged areas between April 30, 2026 and December 31, 2030.
What had once been a device used mainly to stay in touch with family gradually became a gateway to new business ideas.
Before 2023, after deciding to leave his construction job and return home, he experimented with familiar livestock such as buffaloes and goats but achieved limited success.
While searching for a new direction, he came across information online about rosy-cheeked bamboo rat farming - an animal still relatively uncommon in the area but known for its high economic value.
Through instructional videos and farming experiences shared online, he diligently studied and accumulated knowledge before boldly borrowing VND100 million, equivalent to USD3,800, through preferential credit programs for poor and near-poor households.
He used the funds to build a 100-square-meter farm and purchase 26 breeding pairs.
More than three years later, the knowledge he gained through his smartphone has helped him expand the operation to nearly 300 bamboo rats.
With commercial bamboo rats selling for around VND500,000 (USD19) per kilogram and breeding pairs priced at approximately VND2.6 million (USD99), the farm now generates hundreds of millions of dong in annual revenue.
A simple touch on a smartphone screen opened a new path in life for Ly Lao Su.
His story demonstrates that in remote mountainous areas, the internet provides more than information. It can create livelihoods and empower people to find their own routes out of poverty without leaving their hometowns.
Digital waves carrying economic opportunities
Representatives of the Bat Xat Commune Party Building Committee visit Ly Lao Su’s bamboo rat farming model in Na Nam Village. Photo: Bat Xat Commune People’s Committee
Ly Lao Su’s story is not unique.
Across many highland villages today, the internet is becoming a gateway to knowledge and new livelihood opportunities, especially for young people from ethnic minority communities.
Behind these changes are local catalysts - commune officials, youth volunteers, community digital technology teams and young pioneers willing to apply technology to create businesses in their own communities.
The rosy-cheeked bamboo rat farm developed by Ly Lao Su has become a vivid example. Bat Xat Commune selected the model as an outstanding example of effective community engagement in 2026.
According to Nguyen Kieu Phuong, Secretary of the Bat Xat Commune Party Committee, the project represents more than a successful shift in agricultural production.
“It is also a process of accompanying and supporting local residents so they can access science and technology, apply innovation and gradually bring digital knowledge into production and economic development,” he said.
Helping digital waves reach every citizen
The digital economy in ethnic minority and mountainous regions is becoming increasingly visible as internet-connected device ownership continues to rise.
In 2015, only about 6.5% of households in these regions owned smartphones or computers capable of accessing the internet.
By 2024, that figure had reached 85.6%, according to surveys on the socio-economic conditions of Vietnam’s 53 ethnic minority groups conducted in 2015 and 2024.
Community Digital Technology Teams are becoming an extended arm of local authorities, helping residents become familiar with the digital environment.
From using online public services and cashless payments to searching for information that supports production and business activities, these seemingly simple actions are laying the foundation for a digital society beginning in remote villages.
What started as local pilot models has expanded nationwide.
Today, every commune and ward across the country has established Community Digital Technology Teams, totaling more than 93,524 village-level teams with 457,820 members.
Bat Xat Commune alone currently has 55 teams with 520 members.
According to Nguyen Manh Hung, Chairman of the Bat Xat Commune People’s Committee, these teams are helping improve public awareness of digital transformation and increase performance indicators associated with the “Digital Village” model under Decision No. 828/QD-UBND issued by the Lao Cai Provincial People’s Committee on March 27, 2026.
When policies are delivered more quickly, when people confidently participate in the digital environment and when a simple screen tap can open a path out of poverty, geographical distance no longer translates into a development gap.
Support measures helping ethnic minority communities access public telecommunications services
The Public Telecommunications Service Program through 2030 includes support for mobile telecommunications and fixed broadband internet access in the following areas:
Villages with electricity located in particularly disadvantaged communes within ethnic minority and mountainous regions. Particularly disadvantaged villages with electricity in ethnic minority and mountainous areas. Preschools, general education institutions, satellite schools and commune health stations. Information technology support centers serving ethnic minority communities in particularly disadvantaged communes. The program will also subsidize the development and maintenance of telecommunications infrastructure needed to provide mobile services in areas that currently lack such services.
Source: Public Telecommunications Service Program through 2030 approved under Decision No. 777/QD-TTg dated April 30, 2026.
Vietnamnet.vn
Podcast
.svg){kind=icon}
