The "Measuring the Information Society Report 2013" (MIS Report 2013) contains the IDI of 157 countries. IDI generally 'presents the level of ICT developments in countries over time. It is a standard tool that governments, researchers and the general public can use to measure the digital divide and compare ICT performance within and across countries.'
Dr. Jose Ramon G. Albert,Secretary General of National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) in a statement said the MIS Report 2013 showed that there was an increase in the IDI of the country from 3.14 (2011) to 3.34 (2012) however, its rank hasn't changed considering the higher IDI scores of some countries.
"I suppose ICT champions in the government and the private sector need to work hand-in-hand to improve our rank in the years to come," Albert said.
"Many friends from developed countries, whenever they visit here, point to the slow internet and wifi connections. These observations are confirmed by these statistics. However, we should not be afraid of what these statistics are telling us. They merely point to areas on where we can improve," Albert added.
In an NSCB report, telephone density-number of fixed telephone subscriptions per 100 population- in the country has increased its level to 4.07 (2012) from 3.74 (2011). Philippines ranked 7th among the ASEAN member states (AMS) in telephone density. Meanwhile, there were around 107 mobile cellular telephone subscriptions for every 100 population in the Philippines for 2012 making the country as the 8th placer among the AMS in mobile density.
Furthermore, when it comes to internet usage, the ITU estimated that around 36.2% (around 4 per 10 individuals) of the Philippine population use the internet last 2012 -7.2% growth from 2011. The country ranked 5th among the 10 AMS in internet usage. On the other hand, fixed-broadband subscription per 100 population has shown an increasing trend of 2.22 (from 0.01 in 2001) subscriptions per 100 population in 2012 making Philippines to the 6th place among the 10 AMS.
Within the ASEAN region, in 2012, Philippines got the 7th spot with 3.34 IDI score as stated in the NSCB release noting the MIS Report 2013.
"With this rank, the Philippines is the lowest among the largest economies in the ASEAN. It might be a concern that we have been outranked by Viet Nam since 2010 and in 2011, Indonesia outranked us as well," Albert said.
"In a nutshell, statistics show a rosy picture of the status of ICT usage and access in the Philippines. However, as some major ICT indicators are not available, the picture may not be convincing at all. Indicators such as Internet bandwidth, wireless broadband subscription, Internet access tariffs, contribution of ICT to the economy are still wanting in the Philippine Statistical System (PSS)… For sure, government will have to work on having a digitally-empowered citizenry, and together with the private sector, the power of information can be harnessed," Albert said.
IDI indicators include ICT infrastructure and access (fixed-telephone subscriptions; mobile cellular telephone subscriptions; international internet bandwidth per internet user; percentage of households with a computer, & percentage of households with internet access); ICT intensity and usage (individuals using the internet; fixed wired-broadband subscriptions; wireless-broadband subscriptions); and ICT capability and skills (adult literacy; gross secondary enrollment; and gross tertiary enrolment).
Moreover, Albert said that the Philippines formally bid to host the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS) this year during the 11th WITS held in Mexico last December 2013.
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Quelle/Source: Philippine Information Agency, 17.02.2014
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