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New Report Tracks Strong Gains in the
Information Society Worldwide |
 Strong
gains have been achieved in digital opportunity around the world,
according to a new report from the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU). The World
Information Society Report is part of ITU’s contribution to the 2006
session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which is meeting
in Geneva from 3rd to 28th.
The Asian economies of the Republic of Korea and Japan continue to lead
in digital opportunity, due to their pioneering take-up of broadband and
3G mobile services. Nearly all Internet subscribers in the Republic of
Korea are broadband subscribers, whilst Japan is the only market where
Internet subscribers are most likely to access Internet over their
mobile. Dramatic
progress has been achieved by developing countries, however, which made
the greatest progress in digital opportunity - notably India, where
digital opportunity nearly doubled between 2001 and 2005, and China,
which experienced remarkably strong gains in infrastructure. Different
countries are following their own paths in telecommunication
development, with some countries leveraging their investments in
infrastructure more successfully than others.
In
response to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) goals,
the report tracks the changing dynamics driving the
Information Society worldwide, with a new tool—the Digital
Opportunity Index (DOI)—that evaluates the opportunity,
infrastructure and utilization of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) for 180 economies worldwide. The Index monitors the
mobile communications that promise to bridge the digital divide in many
parts of the world, as well as more recent technologies such as
broadband and mobile Internet access. The price of broadband continues
to fall worldwide, by as much as twenty per cent a year over the last
two years according to ITU’s analysis, while broadband speeds continue
to increase. These trends are not restricted to developed countries,
however, with broadband now commercially available in 166 countries
worldwide.
Digital Opportunity Worldwide, 2005
As part
of the ITU’s work in follow-up to the WSIS, the report is addressed to
policy-makers and regulators. It shows how this new Index can inform the
policy-making process in the critical areas of the digital divide,
universal access, gender, and the development of broadband networks. The
Report gives practical examples of how the DOI can be used, and
highlights projects around the world that are working to meet the
commitments made at the WSIS.
The DOI
has been developed by a multi-stakeholder partnership (the Digital
Opportunity Platform) comprising ITU, UNCTAD and the KADO (Korea Agency
for Digital Opportunity and Promotion) and which is open to other
partners. It will be reported annually in order to track progress in
reaching the WSIS targets, and building a diverse and inclusive
Information Society, by 2015.
Launch
of the World Information Society Report 2006
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