Despite significant improvements in mobile telephony and internet access in some parts of the developing world, the gap between the information and communication “haves” and “have-nots” has remained virtually unchanged since 2002, according to a report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
The ITU recently announced the creation of the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) Development Index (IDI), which compares developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) in 154 countries.
The Index, which looks at the countries over a five-year period (2002 to 2007), combines 11 indicators into a single measure that can be used as a benchmarking tool globally, regionally and at the country level. These indicators are related to ICT access, literacy levels and use and skills – such as households with a computer the number of internet users.
Northern Europe and South Korea: Most Advanced Regions
The ITU found that the most advanced countries in terms of ICT adoption are in Northern Europe, with the exception of the Republic of Korea, which also placed high in the rankings. Sweden tops the ITU ICT Development Index, followed by the Republic of Korea, Denmark, The Netherlands, Iceland and Norway.
Northern European countries are followed by other, mainly high-income countries in Europe, Asia and North America. Western and northern Europe and North America are the regions with the highest IDI scores, and most countries from these regions are among the top twenty ICT economies, the research found.
Poor countries, in particular the least developed countries, remain at the lower end of the index with limited access to ICT infrastructure, including fixed and mobile telephony, internet and broadband, reports the ITU.
Eastern Europe: Most Dynamic Region
The report finds that all countries except one have improved their ICT levels during the past five years, but some much more than others. Eastern Europe not only experienced high relative growth but also one of the highest IDI value gains and can thus be considered as the most dynamic region for ICT developments. Countries that were driving this process include the Baltic States and Romania. Other economies that have significantly improved their ICT levels are Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Macao (China), Japan, Italy and France.
Globally speaking, most progress has been made on ICT access, which includes fixed and mobile telephony, internet bandwidth, and households with computers and Internet. In terms of ICT use, which includes the number of internet users, fixed and mobile broadband, progress has been much slower. In particular broadband, a more recent technology, still has to take off in many countries.
Africa: Still Lags behind the Rest
Countries with low ICT levels (and hence low Index ranks) are primarily from the developing world. Given the close relationship between ICT level and GDP, many of the poorer countries, especially in Africa, rank further down in the IDI, with little change in ranking since 2002, ITU said.
Some developing countries, though, have moved up considerably in the Index over the five-year period, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China and Viet Nam. This is partly because of high mobile cellular growth, coupled with an increase in internet users, the research found.
China (#73 in 2007, up from #90 in 2002), has made significant progress in increasing the number of fixed telephone lines and mobile subscriptions as well as fixed broadband connections during the past few years.
Both developed and developing countries have increased their ICT levels by more than 30% over the five-year period, but developing countries are still lagging behind on ICT access and usage.
Key ICT Indicators
The report also presents the latest, end-2008 figures for key ICT indicators and shows that there has been a clear shift from fixed to mobile cellular telephony. By the end of 2008, there were more than three times more mobile cellular subscriptions than fixed telephone lines globally. Two thirds of those are now in the developing world compared with less than half in 2002.
Based on ITU estimates, 23 out of 100 inhabitants globally used the Internet at the end of 2008. However, penetration levels in the developing countries remain low. Africa, with 5% penetration is lagging behind and figures are even lower for broadband.
Global Pricing Tracked
The cost of making a phone call or surfing the Internet can influence the use of these technologies. The ITU report presents a new tool – the ITU ICT Price Basket – that measures and compares ICT prices across countries. It combines the average cost of fixed telephone, mobile cellular, and internet broadband and compares 2008 ICT tariffs in 150 countries, and ranks countries based on the relative price of the ICT services and thus measures and compares the affordability of services.
In 2008, ICT prices corresponded on average to 15 per cent of countries’ average GNI per capita, ranging from 1.6% in developed countries to 20% in developing countries, with most countries in the 0-25%? range, and most developed countries in the 0-3% range. This shows that significant differences exist among countries based on income levels, according to the ITU. Countries with high income level pay relatively little for ICT services, while countries with low income levels pay relatively more. This is often because of very high tariffs for fixed internet broadband in some developing countries.
Countries that rank at the very top of the ICT Price Basket include Singapore, the US, Luxembourg, Denmark, Hong Kong (China), United Arab Emirates, Taiwan (China), Sweden, Norway and Finland. Given the income levels of those countries, they offer the most affordable ICT services globally, ranging between 0.4% and 0.6% of monthly GNI per capita.
In all of the top 25 countries, ICT services account for less than 1% of monthly GNI. This compares with the bottom 25 countries, where the ICT Price Basket value ranges between 40 -72% of monthly GNI -which is a clear indicator that ICTs are unaffordable for the large majority of the people in those countries.
The report also compares prices for each of the three technologies – fixed and mobile telephony and internet broadband. Looking at purchasing power parity tariffs, the cost of fixed telephony is lowest in Iran, followed by Taiwan (China) and the United Arab Emirates; the cost of mobile cellular telephony is lowest in Hong Kong (China), followed by Denmark and Singapore; and the cost of Internet broadband is lowest in the United States, followed by Canada and Switzerland.
A comparison of ICT levels and ICT prices suggests a strong link between the two. The report highlights that economies with relatively low prices have relatively high IDI levels; economies with relatively high prices rank relatively low in the index.
ITU plans to publish the ICT Price Basket on a yearly basis, which will allow countries to track the development of prices over time.
