The country now sits among the global front-runners in the shift to IPv6, outpacing many far larger economies, with 95 million broadband subscribers actively using IPv6 services, according to data presented at a conference reviewing the 2021–2025 IPv6 for Gov Programme held in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday.

After spending its early years absorbing international best practice, Vietnam has, over the past half-decade, become a case study for other countries keen to learn from its nationwide rollout.

The migration to IPv6 has turned into a necessity. IPv6 and IPv6+ are now seen as critical to the internet’s future and the delivery of new digital services, as well as the bedrock for digital infrastructure, e-government, and national digital transformation.

Ethernet cables connected to a network switch in a data center. Illustration from Pexels

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Duc Long said the Internet is entering a new phase where IPv6 is no longer just a technical checkbox but a core platform for national digital infrastructure, digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, cloud computing, and next-generation digital services. Pushing ahead with IPv6 and moving to IPv6-only networks, he argued, is a long-term strategic task tied to building a modern, autonomous, secure, and sustainable national digital backbone.