ITU survey: Measuring the Information Society Report 2016

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has been at the forefront of advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) for 150 years driven by the unifying goal of connecting the world.
ICTs already empower billions of individuals worldwide, and are imperative in the path towards sustainable development in the 21st century.

In line with this ITU has published the 8th edition of the ‘Measuring the Information Society report’ (MIS report 2016). This annual publication provides essential information about ICT development and studies in the field of costs and affordability of ICT services, measured in accordance with internationally agreed methodologies. It aims to stimulate the ICT policy debate in ITU Member States by providing an objective assessment of how countries have performed in the field of ICT and by highlighting areas that need further improvement.

The MIS report 2016, launched during the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS) 2016, in Gaborone, Botswana, features key ICT data and benchmarking tools to measure the information society, including the ICT Development Index (IDI): a unique benchmark of the level of ICT development in countries across the world.

IDI & SDGs

The IDI ranks the performance of countries across the world, based on ICT infrastructure, ICT usage and ICT skills and highlights the importance of ICTs and their catalyst role in the achievement of sustainable development worldwide through the achievement of economic development, social inclusion and environmental protection, the three pillars of sustainable development, as established in the UN 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development.

This new framework for international cooperation to promote sustainable development between 2015 and 2030 is composed of 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), applicable to countries and regions worldwide and are intended to ensure that no one is left behind in the course of progress towards sustainable development.

While none of the SDGs are specifically about ICTs, several adjacent targets make references to ICTs and technology. The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development strives for the spread of information and communication technology and global interconnectedness and has great potential to accelerate human progress, bridge the digital divide and develop knowledge societies as part of Smart Nations. The MIS report 2016 by ITU subscribes to this. ITU has made a concerted effort to highlight the role that ICTs will play in achieving the SDGs, by actively engaging in research collaborations and participating in the discussions on the indicators that will be used to track the SDGs.

Besides providing a useful perspective the MIS report 2016 is an informative tool in the mapping of strategies to grow the ICT sector and drive the socio-economic development of countries worldwide, and subsequently progressing towards the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Policy makers are encouraged to address the broader socio-economic inequalities and help people acquire the skills they need to take full advantage of the internet. The IDI helps governments to identify digital divides while helping the private sector seek investment opportunities.

Data from the annually published EOY benchmark studies of Curaçao, since 2014, ‘Benchmark Telecommunication, Broadband and Television Indicators, so far have not been included in the MIS report for Curaçao as an independent member of the ITU, as Curaçao is a member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

MIS report highlights & key findings

The MIS report 2016 elaborates on the following topics:

• The ICT Development Index (IDI) – Global Analysis
• The ICT Development Index (IDI) – regional and country analysis
• The role of ICTs in monitoring the SDGs
• ICT prices
• Measuring mobile uptake
• Internet user and activity trends

Find below a brief rundown of some of the key findings of the report.

The MIS report 2016 shows that some countries have made strong improvements in performance throughout the world; a number of middle income developing countries in particular are reaping the benefits of more liberalized and competitive ICT markets that encourage innovation and ICT uptake across all sectors.

IDI performance

The republic of Korea tops the IDI ranking in 2016, for the 2nd consecutive year. Among the top ten countries are two other economies in the Asia Pacific region and 7 European countries. Countries showing the strongest improvement in their IDI performance over the last year include Saint Kitts & Nevis, Myanmar, Algeria and Bhutan. Saint Kitts & Nevis rose from 54th place in the IDI 2015 to 34th place in 2016.

Cheaper internet access still unaffordable in many LDCs

Access to fixed broadband internet services is becoming cheaper. However it is still unaffordable in a number of the LDCs (Least Developed Countries), where a fixed broadband plan with a minimum of 1 Gb of data per month corresponds to over 60% of the GNI (Gross National Income) per capita.

The spread of 3G and 4G networks across the world has increased the internet access for more people, but surprisingly not all people use it. Mobile broadband networks covered 84% of the population but a mere 47.1% actually used the internet.

While infrastructure deployment is crucial, high prices and poor quality of service are considered serious obstacles to getting more people to enter the digital world. Low income countries tend to have lower speeds and more inferior quality for their money.

Mobile connectivity versus mobile phone ownership & adoption

The report addresses the current status of mobile phone ownership and adoption. While 90% of the global population lives in an area with a mobile cellular signal, in some developing economies up to 40% of the population does not own a mobile phone and the gender gap is larger for mobile phone ownership than for mobile phone use.

For many people the cost of a handset rather than the cost of the mobile service itself remains the key barrier for adoption.

Cheaper mobile broadband services

Mobile broadband services are cheaper than fixed broadband services. Handset based mobile broadband service prices dropped from $29 in 2013 to $18 in 2015. In spite of this, by early 2016 a mere 38% of the LDCs offered mobile broadband services.

Gender, education and income: determinants in internet access and usage purposes

The offline population of 3.9 billion people is disproportionately female, elderly, less educated, lower income and rural. There is also a significant divide among people using the internet based on income and education.

People with a higher education and income predominantly use the internet for E-commerce and online financial and government services. People with a lower income and education use the internet for communication and entertainment purposes.

Based on this it is safe to conclude that socio-economic factors and analogue skills remain important determinants for benefitting from the opportunities of the internet and a pre-condition for its further rapid spread and evolution.

Evaluation ICT role in monitoring SDGs

The report highlights the role of ICTs in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and presents the newly agreed SDG indicator framework, including the ICT indicators. Additionally, 2015 prices for ICT services are presented for about 160 countries as well as detailed analysis of mobile-cellular, fixed-broadband and mobile-broadband prices over the period 2008-2015.

Correlation Smart Cities & SDGs

The transition to sustainable smart cities with an integrated ICT infrastructure will facilitate and accelerate the transition to better delivery and management systems for energy, water, waste and improved access to transport services, financial services, government services, health services (among others). All criteria for sustainable development.

However, ICTs and broadband cannot solve all problems; they can accelerate solutions. The main challenge is for the international community to join and harness the huge potential that ICTs hold for economic growth and development as ICTs form the essential leaders in the transformation of the digital revolution into a development revolution and moving the SDGs provision to action.

Download the ‘Measuring the Information Society Report 2016’ for a detailed elaboration of the study
and consult the IDI 2016 overview for the IDI ranking and value per economy and to view comparisons.

(Source: ITU, Publication period BT&P: 2017)