Information in this section is extracted from the 2002 World Telecommunication Development Report: Reinventing Telecoms, written by the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau’s Data and Statistics Unit in collaboration with the Policy and Strategy Unit (SPU). This sixth edition of ITU’s World Telecommunication Development Report points the way for planners to reinvent access to services. Throughout its history, the telecommunication sector has reinvented itself; as the driver of growth it has shifted from data (the telegraph), to voice (telephone) and back again to data (the Internet). According to the report, it appears that the industry is once again at such a crossroads, as technological change intersects with new market realities.

The indicators provided here have been selected to give our readers some insights into how the telecommunication world is faring as ITU Members prepare to celebrate World Telecommunication Day on 17 May 2002 to commemorate its founding in Paris in 1865. This year’s theme “Information and communication technologies for all: Empowering people to cross the digital divide” captures many of the most important challenges facing ITU and its membership in the twenty-first century.

Note that Reinventing Telecoms was written in early 2002. Thus, figures for year-end 2001 are provisional and subject to revision.

Information technology

Throughout the column on information technology, “Internet hosts” refer to the number of computers in the economy that are directly linked to the worldwide Internet network. Note that Internet host computers are identified by a two-digit country code or a three-digit code generally reflecting the nature of the organization using the Internet computer. The number of hosts are assigned to countries based on the country code although this does not necessarily indicate that the host is actually physically in the country or economy. In addition, all other hosts for which there is no country code identification are assigned to the United States. Therefore the number of Internet hosts shown for each country or economy can only be considered an approximation. Data on Internet host computers come from Internet Software Consortium (http://www.isc.org) and RIPE (http://www.ripe.net). “Users” are based on reported estimates, derivations based on reported Internet Access Provider subscriber counts, or calculated by multiplying the number of hosts by an estimated multiplier. “Estimated PCs” shows the number of personal computers, both in absolute numbers and in terms of PC ownership per 100 inhabitants. These numbers are derived from the annual questionnaire supplemented by other sources.

	Notes: Economies are classified in the following groups according to their 2000 Gross National Income (GNI) per capita:
		Low income — Economies with a GNI per capita of USD 755 or less.
		Lower-middle income — Economies with a GNI per capita of more than USD 756 and less than USD 2995.
		Upper-middle income — Economies with a GNI  per capita of more than USD 2996 and less than USD 9265.
		High income — Economies with a GNI per capita of USD 9266 or more.
		Totals may not always add up due to rounding. Figures in italics are estimates or refer to years other than those specified.
	Source: ITU (Internet host data: Network Wizards, RIPE) — World Telecommunication Development Report 2002: Reinventing Telecoms.