POST AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

VIETNAM TIME:

GMT plus 7 hours

OFFICE HOURS:

Most of the Government offices are open eight hours a day from 7.30 to 16.30 (except for a one-hour lunch break) on Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday are holidays. Some offices and companies are open on Saturday Morning.

POSTAL SERVICE

A regular international post service is available. In addition there are some new, special services: Express Mail Service (EMS). The domestic EMS ensures that letters and small parcels are delivered within 24-48 hours. International EMS has relations with nearly 30 countries world-wide, with a delivery time ranging from 2 to 10 days.

Air mail and small parcels must however be subject to additional charges.

Express money transfer: Money is delivered to the receiver within 24 hours.

Flower delivery on order by telephone: This service delivers messages of greetings or condolences, together with flowers, money or goods (allowed in circulation) to the receiver by order of the sender.

TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE

Telephone International long-distance calls (direct): To make an international direct dial (IDC) call you must first dial the international prefix (00) followed by the country code, area code and the local number. In case you fail to contact the required number, dial 110 for the operator's help.

Domestic long-distance calls: To place a domestic long-distance call you must first dial the national trunk prefix (0) followed by the area code and local number. If you fail to get the required number, dial 101 for the operator's help

Facsimile (Fax): Fax machines are quickly proliferating in Vietnam. Public and registered fax machines are available in hotels, business and public offices.

Also available are local and international card phone on socio-economic and cultural information. This service also runs advertisements and business self-introduction scheme.

E-mail E-mail and internet access are available in Internet Cafe' and in most of the hotels. In Ho Chi Minh City - the address of 151A Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, P.24. D. Binh Thanh is recommended.

 

 
USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS
 

Police

   113

Fire brigade

   114

Ambulance

   115

Telephone directory

   116

Time inquires

   117

Telephone repair service

   119

Domestic long distance telephone service

   101

International telephone service

   110

Inquiries on socioeconomic, cultural information

   108

 
VIETNAM RADIO AND TELEVISION
 

RADIO

At present Radio the Voice of Vietnam broadcasts on several channels, including:

• VOV 1: News & Current Affairs programs over medium and short waves on frequencies of (594, 630, 648, 655, 666, 675, 690, 711, and 945) kHz and (5925, 9875) kHz with a daily airtime of 18 hours.
• VOV 2: Economic, Social, Cultural and Education programs over medium and short waves on frequencies of  (549, 558, 702, 729, 738, 783 and 1089) kHz and (4960, 12035) kHz with a daily airtime of 18 hours.
• VOV 3: Music and news programs broadcast On FM on the frequencies of 88 - 108 MHz 24 hours a day
• VOV 4: This channel is in service of ethnic minority people in Vietnam. It now broadcasts in 5 ethnic minority languages: Khmer, H'Mong, Ede, Giarai,  Bana and Xedang on medium and short waves on frequencies of (690, 873, 1089 and 5035)kHz,   (6165, 6020, and 7210)kHz.
• VOV 5: This channel is for foreigners living in Vietnam. It broadcasts in English, French, Russian and Vietnamese on FM on the frequency of 105.5MHz with a daily airtime of 6 hours which can be heard in  Hanoi, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh city, and  Vung Tau .
• VOV 6 (International): (Overseas Service): broadcasts over short and medium waves on the frequencies of (1242, 7285,9840, 12020) kHz (for South East Asia); 7390 kHz; 7440 kHz, 9730 kHz and 13740 kHz (for Europe) 5940kHz; 7260kHz; 13665kHz (for America). This international service is in 11 foreign languages: English, French, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Indonesian, Lao, Thai, Khmer and Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese).

 
TELEVISION

The Central Vietnam Television Station broadcasts programs daily through the Starcionar 13 transmitting station:

(Hanoi time)

 - VTV1: 05.30  - 10.00; 17.00 - 22.00/22.30

 - VTV2: 10.00 - 17.00 (nationwide); 17.00 - 20.30 (Hanoi only)

 - VTV3: 12.00 - 24.00

 - VTV4: (Overseas Service) 0.00 - 04.00 (in English and Vietnamese).

At present all provinces and cities have their own stations and programs.

T.V.R.O.: Vietnam now has some thousands of parabolic antennae to directly receive satellite programs. These antennae are installed on the roofs of hotels, guesthouses, houses for rent to foreigners and some public offices. However, a TVRO is expensive, and consequently the Vietnamese government is considering setting up a cable television service. Currently, the number of customers for this service is 10.000. Package price for the service (antenna, decoder, and installation fee) is VND 3 million.

Multi-channel Microwave Distribution Services: (MMDS) The service can simultaneously transmit several TV programs including a news service, an economic broadcast, a science and technology service, as well covering educational issues, entertainment and sport. It operates from both local and international stations. This kind of entertainment came into operations since 1995. Currently, it has provided 9 channels, including one Vietnamese and 8 foreign ones.

CATV (Cable Television) and DTH (Direct to Home) are being under test and will soon be operational to satisfy both Vietnamese and foreign viewers.