ITU Digital Opportunity Index (DOI)

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DOI : a Users' Guide

An index needs a framework for converting indicators to a unitary value. Most indices also group related indicators into categories that can be useful for analyzing countries relative strengths and weaknesses.

The Digital Opportunity Index is a composite index that measures “digital opportunity” or the possibility for the citizens of a particular country to benefit from access to information that is “universal, ubiquitous, equitable and affordable” (WSIS Tunis Commitment, para 10). It uses a range of indicators, including data on service prices and the take-up of latest ICTs, to assess countries’ performance and prospects to measure progress in building the Information Society in 180 economies worldwide. The DOI can be used to enrich policy and inform policymakers of the latest trends and impact analysis of ICT policies to identify successful policies and replicate them elsewhere.

The DOI follows the same methodology as ITU's Digital Access Index and the Human Development Index of the United Nations Development Program. The ITU’s Digital Access Index groups 8 indicators into five categories (Infrastructure, Affordability, Knowledge, Quality and Usage). The indicators are normalized relative to desirable values or goalposts.

For example, a goalpost of 100 was established for mobile cellular subscribers per 100 inhabitants. Assuming a country had 60 mobile cellular subscribers per 100 inhabitants, then the index value would be 0.6 (60/100). Indicators are weighted within their groups and then the groups are averaged to arrive at the DAI value.

This is the same methodology used by the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Index (HDI), which is arguably the benchmark for composite indices, as it is one of the longest-standing and most referenced of all.

Indicator	DOI	DAI	NRI	ISI	Orbicom
A-2 Mobile cellular subscribers per 100 inhabitants
A-4 Internet subscribers per 100 inhabitants
A-5 Broadband Internet subscribers per 100 inhabitants
A-7 Percentage of population covered by mobile cellular telephony
A-8 Internet access tariffs (20 hours per month), in US$, and as a percentage of per capita income
A-9 Mobile cellular tariffs (100 minutes pf use per month), in US$, and as a percentage of per capita income
HH-3 Proportion of households with a fixed line telephone
HH-5 Proportion of households with a computer
HH-7 Proportion of households with Internet access at home
HH-8 Proportion of individuals that used the Internet
Note: DAI = Digital Access Index (ITU), NRI = Network Readiness Index (World Economic Forum), ISI = Information Society Index (IDC). Source: ITU, Measuring Digital Opportunity, July 2005.

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DOI Structure
Category / indicator	Goalpost	Weight within category (%)
Opportunity
Percentage of population covered by mobile cellular telephony	100	33
Mobile cellular tariffs as a percentage of per capita income	0	33
Internet access tariffs as a percentage of per capita income	0	33
Infrastructure
Proportion of households with a fixed line telephone	100	20
Mobile cellular subscribers per 100 inhabitants	100	20
Proportion of households with Internet access at home	100	20
Mobile Internet subscribers per 100 inhabitants	100	20
Proportion of households with a computers	100	20
Utilization
Internet users per 100 inhabitants	100	33
Ratio of (Fixed) Broadband Internet subscribers to total Internet subscribers	100	33
Ratio of (Mobile) Broadband Internet subscribers to mobile Internet subscribers	100	33
Note: The indicator is divided by the goalpost to obtain the sub index value. The weighted value is obtained by multiplying the sub index by the weight shown in this table. The Digital Opportunity Index is calculated by averaging the three category scores.

More on the structure of the DOI

Benefits of using the DOI

Grouping the indicators and using goalposts to normalize the values offers a number of benefits:

It is a straightforward and transparent methodology since the goalposts are identifiable and the calculations clear.
The use of goalposts establishes targets that countries can aspire to and establishes a parameter for achievement. Establishing the goalposts sharpens thinking about the indicators themselves and their relevance to the information society.
Grouping the indicators allows countries to see where they are relatively strong and weak, which can be useful for policy-making.
The index can be tracked over time without the index values changing meaning. This is particularly useful for policy evaluation.

More on the DOI methodology

World Information Society Report 2006, ITU, July 2006

Revised Methodology Report:
Measuring Digital Opportunity, (ITU, November 2005)