Vietnam's transition to IPv6 is inevitable, and those who move too slowly risk being left behind in the country's digital future, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Duc Long said on June 18.

Presenting the program's achievements, Nguyen Thi Oanh, Deputy Head of the Cooperation and Resource Management Division at the Vietnam Internet Center (VNNIC), said Vietnam had already established a national vision for IPv6 deployment in 2020.

At the time, policymakers recognized that IPv6 would play a decisive role in the future of the internet, supporting emerging technologies and services such as the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and cloud computing, while serving as a key pillar of digital infrastructure, digital government and the country’s broader digital transformation agenda.

In January 2021, the Ministry of Information and Communications, now integrated into the Ministry of Science and Technology, approved a national program to accelerate and support IPv6 adoption across government agencies during the 2021-2025 period.

The initiative aimed to modernize government network infrastructure while improving services for citizens and businesses and supporting the development of national digital infrastructure and digital government.

According to Oanh, Vietnam's IPv6 adoption rate stood at 40% in 2020, when government information portals had not yet implemented the protocol. Today, IPv6 usage has reached 67%, placing Vietnam among the world's top 10 countries for IPv6 deployment for five consecutive years.

Currently, 86% of ministries, government agencies and local authorities have migrated their online portals, public services and connected information infrastructure to IPv6. Around 73% have implemented IPv6 within independently planned IP and ASN infrastructures at data centers, while 86% of broadband and mobile subscribers - approximately 95 million connections - now use IPv6.

Vietnam views IPv6 as larger, faster and more efficient than IPv4, and has pursued deployment alongside many of the world's leading digital economies. However, challenges remain, including monitoring the retirement of IPv4 systems, upgrading network equipment and improving user awareness.

Oanh said Vietnam plans to discontinue IPv4 by 2030 and sees IPv6 as a critical driver for the next stage of national digital infrastructure development.

In his keynote address, Pham Duc Long emphasized that IPv6 significantly expands a country's development space in the digital environment.

"If previous generations conducted most activities in the physical world, today nearly everything takes place in the digital world," he said. "The real world is increasingly mirrored in digital space, and every connection that exists physically requires a corresponding connection digitally."

Long noted that digital government, the digital economy and digital society all operate on digital infrastructure, and IPv6 provides the scale required to support that expansion.

"IPv6 creates the environment and the capacity for Vietnam to connect with the world. It expands the country's development space in the digital realm by enabling new industries, new growth drivers, broader connectivity and more applications," he said.

He also stressed that this new digital space must remain secure, modern and scalable enough to support future development needs, particularly in areas such as data, innovation and strategic technologies.

According to Long, the Vietnamese government is actively promoting science and technology development, innovation and digital transformation, all of which rely on efficient digital infrastructure where IPv6 plays a central role.

The country's long-term objective, he added, is to make IPv6 the standard foundation of Vietnam's internet ecosystem through a transition toward IPv6-only networks.

Achieving that goal will require coordinated participation from ministries, local governments and businesses across the country.

"Our ultimate objective is to build a digital infrastructure strong enough to accelerate national development and strengthen Vietnam's position and voice within the global internet community," Long said.

At the conference, leaders from the Ministry of Science and Technology, government agencies and businesses officially launched the IPv6 Only Program for the 2025-2030 period.

Le My