South Korea is the world’s most advanced economy in terms of information and communications technology, followed by Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland.
Europe does well in the list, compiled by the United Nations agency, the International Telecommunication Union, on the eve of its ITU Telecom conference in Dubai.
Of the ten top-ranked countries, eight are from Europe. The two remaining countries both come from the Asia-Pacific region, with Korea in first place and Japan ranked eighth. The UK makes the top ten for the first time — in ninth position in 2012, compared with number 14 in 2011. The top five countries have not changed their rank between 2010 and 2011.
ITU secretary-general Hamadoun Touré said: “Our reputation as a wholly impartial and reliable source of ICT market statistics makes this report the annual industry benchmark for technology development.”
The ITU’s ICT Development Index ranks 155 countries according to their level of ICT access, use and skills, and compares 2010 and 2011 scores. All countries in the IDI top 30 are high-income countries, underlining the strong link between income and ICT progress.
The report, Measuring the Information Society 2012, also identifies countries which have made the most progress when it comes to ICT development. Strong performers include Bahrain, Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and Saudi Arabia.
Mobile broadband continues to be the ICT service displaying the sharpest growth rates, says the report. Over the past year, growth in mobile-broadband services continued at 40% globally and 78% in developing countries. There are now twice as many mobile-broadband subscriptions as fixed-broadband subscriptions worldwide.
According to the report’s ICT Price Basket, which spans 161 economies and combines the average cost of fixed and mobile phone and fixed broadband internet services, the price of ICT services dropped by 30% globally between 2008 and 2011, with the biggest decrease in fixed-broadband internet services, where average prices have come down by 75%.
But fixed-broadband services still remain too expensive in most developing countries. The price of a basic, monthly fixed-broadband package at the end of 2011 represented over 40% of a person’s average monthly gross income. This compares to 1.7% in developed economies.
Brahima Sanou, director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, which produces the annual report, said: “The surge in numbers of mobile-broadband subscriptions in developing countries has brought the internet to a multitude of new users. But despite the downward trend, prices remain relatively high in many low-income countries. For mobile broadband to replicate the mobile-cellular miracle and bring more people from developing countries online, 3G network coverage has to be extended and prices have to go down even further.”
The ITU’s 2012 conference starts in Dubai on October 14 and runs through until October 18.
---
Quelle/Source: Global Telecoms Business, 12.10.2012
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
