The alternative was to buy space on the server of an internet access provider and through this exploration we began to understand that even the ISPs were dependent on regular telephone lines, though they did have multiple lines for greater efficiency than we had. The cost was still high. Tuition costs at foreign institutions remained high even with some discounts, access to the internet was exorbitantly high, and the combination was beyond the reach of the limited resources of prospective students. There seemed no way to proceed immediately until the cost of internet access comes down and the quality of the access is greatly improved. Telecommunication costs in Viet Nam continue to be among the highest in the world.
Few people can afford the cost of international direct dialing which is certainly available.
Needless to say, I arrange for friends and relatives to call me from home and happy to reimburse them the more reasonable charges from the other end. I recently visited a university in Ho Chi Minh City which has opened a very fine new classroom building. But access from this building to the internet is still dependent on a telephone line. The limitations of cost and infrastructure will hamper the development of web-based courseware delivery in Viet Nam for the immediate future. One impact of the current situation is there is not yet the widespread habit of internet or e-mail use and still a good deal of skepticism about the qualities of education delivered through technology.