B: Thank you, Uddin, for sharing your passion for shortwave with your students. We’ll send your students some VOV pennants and our latest frequency list to encourage them to listen to our shortwave broadcasts.

A: Deekay Dimple of India reported listening to VOV’s program on April 30 on the frequency of 7280 khz. He rated SINPO at 44343. Deekay told us that he listened to “Colorful Vietnam-Vietnam's 54 Ethnic Group” program. He wrote: “The program introduced the customs of the Thai ethnic group in Vietnam, which has subgroups of Black Thai, White Thai, and Red Thai. I learned a lot about the wedding customs of the Black Thai through this program. I enjoyed it very much.”

Black Thai and White Thai are basically identified by their costumes.

B: The Thai ethnic group is the second largest ethnic minority in Vietnam, with approximately 1.5 million people, ranking only after the Kinh and Tay ethnic groups. They live mainly in Vietnam’s northwestern provinces. The Thai have a wealth of legends, myths and poems. Their folk songs, and recited or sung poems with dances and musical instruments are unique. Their traditional food reflects their culture, lifestyle, and work.

A: The Thai no longer live isolated in mountain areas. They are actively engaged in community-based tourism to earn extra income and promote their culture. On our website at vovworld.vn, you can find many stories about the Thai – their habitat, life, production, culture, customs, and social integration.

Black Thai and White

B: President of Chaitak Listeners’ Club of India Siddhartha Bhattacharjee emailed us May 1^st to say he listened to programs on the frequency of 7220khz at 16:00 UTC, with a good signal. Thank you very much for the audio clips you sent us. They helped our technicians check VOV’s signal quality where you are. 

A: Mr. Bhattacharjee has questions about the internet in Vietnam. “What kind of internet coverage do you have in Vietnam? Is it 4G or 5G? What percentage of people use the internet in your country?”

B: 4G mobile phone services are expected to see strong growth in Vietnam in the next few years, accelerating the completion of national e-Government, Smart City, and Smart Agriculture program.

A: Over 20 years of development, the internet in Viet Nam has permeated every part of daily life and changed people’s habits. Viet Nam has developed a modern telecom infrastructure nationwide. Under a national plan, 95 percent of Vietnam’s population will have 3G and 4G connections by 2020.

B: According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam has 50 million Internet users, 54% of the population, higher than the global average of 46%. Over the past 2 decades, Vietnam has witnessed significant growth in internet-based services and products. 

A: Vietnam Post and Telecommunications, Viettel, and MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation, have upgraded their infrastructure for 4G to allow wireless internet access at a much faster speed.

B: According to a report by American content delivery network Akamai Technologies, Vietnam’s average mobile internet speed in the first quarter of 2017, including 3G and 4G, was 5.3Mbps, among the slowest in the Asia-Pacific region. Asia-Pacific countries averaged 9.7Mbps, while Australian and Japanese users averaged more than 15Mbps.

A: The Vietnam National Telecommunications Authority said Vietnamese internet data packages are among the cheapest in the region. Consumers expect data prices to continue to fall due to increased competition among carriers and new technologies.

B: I’m reading an email from American listener Richard Nowak. He reports listening to a program on April 29 on 7315 khz with perfect reception. He said: “The Sunday Show was outstanding, with an interview with a US war veteran named Paul Reed on the 43^rd Anniversary of Vietnam’s Reunification. This was an amazing story of war and forgiveness.”

A: Thank you, Richard, for regularly tuning in to our program and sending us feedback. If any of you miss a program, you can hear it again on our website at vovworld.vn.

B: Muneer K.P. of the UAE emailed us to say that he got another QSL Verification card from VOV for reception reports in February. He said he has been listening to VOV since 2006 and asked us to send him a certificate or recognition letter.  

A: We have souvenirs to acknowledge your listening to VOV for 5, 10, or 15 years. We’ll ask our colleagues to send one to you. 22-year-old Japanese University student Toshiki Tsuboi emailed us a reception report for a Russian program April 29. He said he listened to the program by chance on 9840khz and felt very happy.

B: Welcome to VOV’s worldwide Dx’ing community. We’ll forward your report to our Russian section. Some materials of the English section will be sent to you and we hope to receive more feedback from you soon.

A: We apologize to Dr. Dilip Kumar Sarkar of India for misspelling his surname, which is "SARKAR", not 'sakkar' as we spelled it in one of our previous programs. Please accept our sincere apology for our mistake. We’ll issue a QSL card for your reception report for the program on April 28 on 7220 kHz.

B: Carlo Mella of Italy reported that VOV’s English broadcast on the frequency of 7280 kHz can be heard quite well in Italy. Unfortunately, the frequency of 9730 kHz is unusable due to overwhelming co-channel interference from the Portuguese Service of China Radio International. The transmission on 7280 khz on April 24^th and 25^th was fair-to-good, with a mostly steady signal, moderate atmospheric noise, and minor fading. Carlo rated SINPO at 45444.

A: Thank you all for listening to VOV and sending us your feedback. We welcome your letters at English Section, VOVWorld, Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Our email address is englishsection@vov.org.vn. Thank you for listening. Please join us again next Wednesday for another edition of the Letter Box. Goodbye.