Vietnam’s connectivity scorecard increased four notches compared to last year, jumping from the 19th position to the 15th among developing countries, according to the Connective Scorecard 2010 report.

Connectivity Scorecard is a global ICT index – the first of its kind to rank 50 countries on ICT infrastructure and ‘useful connectivity’ – the extent to which governments, businesses and consumers use connectivity technologies to enhance social and economic prosperity.

Connectivity Scorecard 2010 highlighted the continued need for investment in information and communications technology (ICT) to stimulate economic growth.

Leonard Waverman, dean of Haskayne School of Business, carried out the report along with colleagues from the London Business School. LECG, a global expert services and consulting firm, and Nokia Siemens Networks also supported the report.

Malaysia ranked first in the connectivity scorecard while Vietnam ranked 15th among developing countries. Vietnam is behind Thailand and Malaysia but beat China, India and the Philippines.

The higher score indicates that Vietnamese customers are more skilled in IT and use the Internet regularly. Consumer infrastructure and broadband penetration was very low though.

Vietnam’s E-Government score is enhancing in line with countries that have similar economic development.

However, enterprises’ connectivity scorecard was very low, affecting Vietnam’s entire score. Enterprises’ connectivity index plays a crucial role in assessment.

Nokia Siemens Networks concluded that Vietnam had scored highly as it had invested more in IT infrastructure. The company hoped that Vietnam’s connectivity score would continue to improve.

To achieve this, Vietnam should promote connectivity among enterprises, the company suggested. In related news, U.S. market researcher Nielsen also sees a bright future for internet users in Vietnam. In a recent report, Nielsen surveyed more than 27,000 consumers in 54 countries worldwide, including 6,604 in the Asia Pacific Region to determine attitudes concerning paid online content.

According to Nielsen, Vietnamese consumers are more willing than some of their Asian counterparts to pay for online content. When asked if internet content should remain free, less than half strongly agreed (42%), lower compared to the Asia Pacific regional average (44%).

Darin Williams, Nielsen Vietnam’s managing director, said in a statement that Vietnamese consumers have a much higher propensity, relative to the Asia Pacific average, to pay for content that they know has been professionally produced such as music, movies and games. He added that an overwhelming 81% majority said that paid-for content would have to be significantly better than what is currently available free online before they would consider paying for it.

The survey also indicated that paid online newspapers could work better in Vietnam than in other Asian markets. A quarter of Vietnamese respondents said that they have paid for internet-only news in the past, and 27% have previously paid for online newspaper content.

Asked whether they would consider paying for online newspapers or internet-only news sources in the future, more than half said they would not (35 and 29% respectively).