Title: Hong Kong as an Information Society 2012
Pages: 87 pp.
Publisher: Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong Special Administrative Region People's Republic of China
Date (published): 29/05/2012
Date (accessed): 14/08/2012
Type of information: Statistical report
Language: Bilingual (Chinese and English)
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract: This publication aims at presenting statistical data compiled from a variety of sources relevant to the development of an information society, ranging from the recent developments in information and communication technology services, the external trade of information and communication technology goods, and the usage and penetration of information technology in the business, household and government sectors. Analysis on the demand for manpower in the information technology field and development of relevant educational programmes is also included.

Title: The Indian web and mobile markets by the numbers
Author: Katie Fehrenbacher
Source: GigaOM
Date (published): 14/12/2011
Date (accessed): 15/12/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Sometimes it’s just easier to get a high-level picture of a market if you look directly at the numbers. Google India Managing Director Rajan Anandan gave a fascinating talk to our Geeks on a Plane India group this week, giving us a snap shot of the data that is driving the consumers, entrepreneurs, trends and investors in the rapidly growing Indian web and mobile markets.

Anandan says: “We’re probably in 1996 in the U.S. in terms of the Internet market in India.” Here’s the stats from Anandan’s deck. India has:
..."

Title: ICT for Democracy in East Africa: Project Update
Author: Ashnah Kalemera
Publisher: Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
Date (published): 01/11/2011
Date (accessed): 14/12/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Launched in May 2011, ICT for Democracy in East Africa (ICT4DemEA) is a network of organisations undertaking collaborative projects where Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is used in various ways to promote transparency, accountability and democracy.

The network, with seed funding from the Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions (Spider) comprises of organisations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. These are the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET); Transparency International Uganda (TIU); The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA); iHub (Kenya) the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Tanzania’s Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG).

The projects spearheaded by each organisation leverage on ICT with the aim to fight corruption, enhance the right to freedom of expression, monitor service delivery, hold leaders accountable and encourage civic participation. During the recently concluded Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Nairobi, September 27-30, 2011, the regional network partners met to discuss the progress of their projects."

Title: Smart Thailand: Major push to achieve digital change
Author: Jirapan Boonnoon
Source: The Nation
Date (published): 09/09/2011
Date (accessed): 21/09/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"IT infrastructure to cover 80% of country within four years
Government agencies are planning a major push to help the country achieve "Smart Thailand" status, involving the widespread use of information technology and the adoption of international standards, to prepare Thailand for implementation of the Asean Economic Community in 2015.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Minister Anudith Nakornthap said Smart Thailand would involve smart connected community networks, smart digital government services and smart collaborative business support.

He said the ministry expected to lay down information-technology infrastructure to cover about 80 or 85 per cent of the country within the next four years. E-government services will be developed and provided at the same time.

He did not disclose how much the government expected to spend in laying down the ICT infrastructure.

He said the ministry aimed also to establish the use of smart ID cards as personal identification for accessing hospital services and e-government services, as well as in e-business transactions.

It is planning to use the Universal Service Fund, which is sponsored by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in order to provide equal access to IT services in remote areas of the country, and to ask service providers to give free Wi-Fi services to communities as a form of corporate social responsibility."

Title: Measuring the Information Society 2011
Pages: 174 pp.
ISBN: 92-61-13801-2
Publisher: International Telecommunication Union
Date (published): 15/09/2011
Date (accessed): 16/09/2011
Type of information: report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf, excluding Annex 5, which includes the tariff data)
Abstract:
"The latest edition of Measuring the Information Society features ITU's two key benchmarking tools to measure the Information Society: the ICT Development Index (IDI) and the ICT Price Basket (IPB). The IDI captures the level of ICT developments in 152 economies worldwide and compares progress made during the past two years. The IPB combines fixed telephone, mobile cellular and fixed broadband Internet tariffs for 165 economies into one measure and compares these across countries, and over time. The report also presents the latest global market trends, takes a closer look at broadband and analyses the digital divide among Internet users. The analytical report is complemented by a series of statistical tables providing country-level data for the indicators included in the two indices.
…
The IDI combines 11 indicators into a single measure that can be used as a benchmarking tool globally, regionally, and at national level, as well as helping track progress in ICT development over time. It measures ICT access, use and skills, and includes such indicators as mobile cellular subscriptions, households with a computer, fixed and mobile broadband Internet subscriptions, and basic literacy rates. For the first time this year, the IDI’s ‘ICT use’ sub-index grew more than the ‘ICT access’ sub-index, reflecting the fact that many countries have reached saturation levels in terms of basic ICT infrastructure and are becoming active ICT users.
…
Geneva, 15 September 2011 - New figures released today by ITU show that information and communication technology (ICT) uptake continues to accelerate worldwide, spurred by a steady fall in the price of telephone and broadband Internet services.

The new data, released in ITU’s flagship annual ICT report ‘Measuring the Information Society 2011’, rank the Republic of Korea as the world’s most advanced ICT economy, followed by Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Finland.

A key feature of the report is the ICT Development Index (IDI)*, which ranks 152 countries according to their level of ICT access, use and skills, and compares 2008 and 2010 scores. Most countries at the top of the ranking are from Europe and Asia Pacific. The United Arab Emirates and Russia rank first within their respective regions and Uruguay ranks highest in South America. Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Viet Nam, and Russia were some of the most dynamic countries between 2008 and 2010, with all of them making substantial improvements in their IDI ranks.

All countries included in the IDI improved their scores this year, underlining the increasing pervasiveness of ICTs in today’s global information society. “While the IDI leaders are all from the developed world, it is extremely encouraging to see that the most dynamic performers are developing countries,” said Dr Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General. “The ‘mobile miracle’ is putting ICT services within reach of even the most disadvantaged people and communities. Our challenge now is to replicate that success in broadband.” This report shows that while ICT and income levels are closely related, getting the right public policy mix can drive faster take-up and a number of countries, including Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea have higher IDI levels than their income level would predict.

Mobile now ubiquitous
The spread of mobile networks in developing countries remains buoyant, with 20 per cent growth in mobile subscriptions over the past year and no signs of a slowdown.
In developed countries, on the other hand, mobile cellular penetration has reached saturation, with average penetration now over 100% at end 2010, compared with 70% in developing countries. With more than five billion subscriptions and global population coverage of over 90%, mobile cellular is now de facto ubiquitous.
Mobile broadband (‘3G’) services are also spreading quickly; by end 2010, 154 economies worldwide had launched 3G networks. Wireless broadband Internet access remains the strongest growth sector in developing countries, with mobile broadband growing by 160% between 2009 and 2010. Countries registering the highest gains in the IDI ‘ICT use’ sub-index are mostly those which have achieved a sizeable increase in mobile broadband subscriptions.
Conversely, the number of dial-up Internet subscriptions has been decreasing rapidly since 2007 and, based on current trends, the ‘death of dial-up’ is expected to become a reality over the next few years.

Affordability improves, but developing world still paying too much
Globally, telecommunication and Internet services are becoming more affordable. According to the 2010 ICT Price Basket (IPB), which spans 165 economies and combines the average cost of fixed telephone, mobile cellular and fixed broadband Internet services, the price of ICT services dropped by 18% globally between 2008 and 2010, with the biggest decrease in fixed broadband Internet services, where average prices have come down by 52%.
All economies in the IPB top ten have high GNI per capita, and, with the exception of the United Arab Emirates, all are from Europe and Asia Pacific. In developed countries, average prices for ICT services correspond to no more than 1.5. % of monthly per capita income, compared with 17% in developing countries. But while broadband prices declined sharply worldwide, a high-speed Internet connection remains unaffordable in many low-income countries. For example, in Africa at end 2010, fixed broadband services cost on average the equivalent of 290% of monthly income, down from 650% in 2008.

Big disparities in speed and service quality
Comparing fixed- and mobile broadband technologies and services, the report also finds huge differences in network capacity, speed and quality.
In many developing countries, while the minimum speed for broadband (256 kbit/s) may be sufficient for email and other very basic services, it is inadequate for graphics-rich data-intensive applications and services. In addition, the report notes that the actual speed experienced by both fixed- and mobile broadband customers is often much lower than the advertised speed, and calls on ICT regulators to take steps to encourage operators to provide consumers with clearer information on coverage, speed and prices.
“A new digital divide is unfolding between those with high-speed/capacity/quality access – as is the case in many high-income countries – and those with lower speed/capacity/quality access, as is the case in many low-income countries,” said Mr Brahima Sanou, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. “Policy-makers should act swiftly to facilitate the spread of broadband and ensure that broadband services are faster, more reliable and affordable.”
The report also points to important qualitative differences between fixed- and mobile broadband services. The average speed of a mobile broadband subscription does not usually match that of a high-speed fixed subscription and usually includes data caps, unlike the ‘unlimited data’ fixed broadband offers that are now widely available. This represents a challenge for countries where mobile is the only broadband access technology available to end users – which is the case in many developing countries.
Targeting youth could be transformational

ITU research indicates that targeting students may be the most effective way to increase Internet use in developing countries. The Internet is only used by an around 21 per cent of the population in the developing world, compared with almost 70 per cent in developed countries.

The Measuring the Information Society 2011 report suggests that the main barriers to Internet use are not always related to infrastructure and price. Usage patterns show major differences related to education, gender, income, age and geographical location of users (urban/rural). For example, there is remarkably little difference in patterns of Internet use among highly educated, high-income individuals across the developing and developed worlds. People with higher educational degrees use the Internet more than those with a lower level of education, and in most countries more men than women are online.

Young people (below the age of 25) are online more than older people, and there is a higher level of Internet use among those currently in school compared with those no longer studying. Assuming that people will continue using the Internet once they have become accustomed to being online, those currently enrolled at school or university are more likely to be future Internet users, too. For young people all over the world, social networking and user-created content like blogs have become key drivers of Internet uptake.
Given that 46 per cent of the population in developing countries is below the age of 25 (representing more than 2.5 billion people), the report suggests that one of the most effective ways to increase Internet use in these countries is by targeting the younger generation – for example through connecting schools and other educational institutions, and improving enrolment rates.

Download the executive summary: English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian (PDF format)

Order the full report by clicking here"

Title: UNESCO Media & Information Literacy: Report 1
Author: Sheila Webber
Source: Information Literacy Weblog
Date (published): 11/08/2011
Date (accessed): 12/08/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"On Thursday (11th August) I participated in the meeting organised by the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) Information Literacy Section and UNESCO IFAP (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Information For All Program) on Media and Information Literacy Indicators and Government Action Recommendations. It was held at the Universidad Politécnica de Puerto Rico, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I will do several separate blog posts about it.

The day started with a presentation via video link from Mr Janis Karklins, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information at UNESCO. The picture above shows the video feed. He identified reasons why UNESCO is working on literacy issues. Namely, in order to succeed in fast changing societies, and tackle the challenges of the knowledge economy, people needed various literacies. These literacies should support diverse people to succeed. Information Literacy was still seen as part of people’s basic human right which helped people achieve their personal and professional goals.

UNESCO felt that they needed to look at a combination of literacies, and felt that it would be “interesting from a conceptual point of view” to link the two essential literacies: media literacy and information literacy. "

See also:
UNESCO Media & Information Literacy: Report 2

Title: Proceedings of the ACORN-REDECOM Conference 2011
Editors: Liliana Ruiz de Alonso [et al.]
Pages: 397 pp.
ISBN: 2177-3858
e-ISBN: 2177-1634
Publisher: Americas Information and Communication Research Network
Date (published): 18/06/2011
Date (accessed): 10/08/2011
Type of information:
Language: English, Portuguese, Spanish
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
Contents / Contenido / Sumário
ICT POLICY AND REGULATION (Sipan Salon)
Broadband Policies and Deployment (Session 1A – May 19th, 2011)
A deployment strategy for Internet exchange points as part of a national broadband plan (Daniel B. Cavalcanti) 1
El plan colombiano para integrar un ecosistema digital (Fernando Beltrán and Lina Gómez Torres) 7
Oportunidades y desafíos de la banda ancha móvil (Ernesto Flores Roux and Judith Mariscal Avilés) 17

Social Media and Social Participation (Session 2A – May 19th, 2011)
Hacia un índice de medición del desarrollo de los cibermedios (Elias Said-Hung and Carlos Arcila-Calderón) 39
Redes sociales virtuales. Más allá de la mediación tecnológica (Mónica García Gil and Arturo Uscátegui Maldonado) 49
Impacto de las TIC en los procesos de comunicación de las organizaciones sociales de base de Daniel Hernandez (Gabriela Perona Zevallos) 57

Impact of ICT on Rural Communities (Session 3A – May 19th, 2011)
Refarming frequencies in rural areas: A regulatory perspective (Enrico Calandro) 67
Descontinuidades e sombras: acessos, usos e fontes de informação numa comunidade rural e remota na sociedade da informação (Fausta Clarinda de Santana) 81

Impact of Technology and Other Industries: Health, Agriculture, and Tourism (Session 4A – May 19th, 2011)
Información para la agricultura y capital social. Uso de smartphones entre pequeños agricultores en la costa peruana (Roberto Bustamante Vento) 91
Adopción de Internet, empleo y pobreza en Uruguay (Fernando Borraz and Daniel Ferrés) 101

ICTs and Industry (Session 5A – May 20th, 2011)
Impacto de las TIC en el emprendimiento empresarial: Estimaciones econométricas a nivel de un panel de países (Jorge Vélez Ospina) 121
Governança, Commons e Direitos de Propriedade Intelectual: uma análise em termos de Social Choice (Alain Herscovici) 137

E-Governance and Regulation (Session 6A – May 20th, 2011)
Democracia, espacio público e internet (Marina Vieira Villela) 151
E-Governo, Participação e Transparência de Gestão (Othon Jambeiro, Rosane Sobreira and Lorena Macambira) 159
Modelo teórico para el abordaje de la regulación de internet y el ciberespacio (Nelson Díaz
Pardo and Luz Naranjo) 164

ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND CITIZENSHIP: ACCESS AND APPLICATIONS (Quechua Salon)
Telecom and Economics (Session 1B – May 19th, 2011)
Empirical Evidence on the Impact of Privatization of Fixed-Line Operators on Telecommunications Performance: Comparing OECD, Latin American, and African Countries (F. Gasmi, L. Recuero Virto, P. Noumba and A. Maingard) 181
Broadband Economic Impact in Brazil: A Simultaneous Equations Analysis (Hildebrando Rodrigues Macedo and Alexandre Ywata de Carvalho) 211
Investment, Dynamic Consistency and the Sectoral Regulator`s Objetive (Duarte Brito, Pedro Pereira and João Vareda) 229

Mobile Policies and Pricing (Session 2B – May 19th, 2011)
Mobile Number Portability in South Asia (Tahani Iqbal) 259 Mobile Termination Rate Debate in Africa (Christoph Stork) 267

The Future of Laws and Regulations (Session 3B – May 19th, 2011)
Telecommunications Law Indicators for Comparative Studies (TLICS) Model: A Hermeneutical Approach (Marcio Iorio Aranha) 283 Convergence and Regulation in Brazilian Telecommunications (Jose Rogerio Vargens) 295
Avaliação de portais de compras brasileiros centrada na perspectiva dos fornecedores (Heryck Leonardo Resende Paranhos and Adriane Maria Arantes de Carvalho) 309

Broadband Policies and Impact (Session 4B – May 19th, 2011)
Broadband tariffs in Latin America: Benchmarking and analysis (Hernán Galperin and Christian Ruzzier) 317
Redes de comunicación electrónicas, políticas públicas y bienestar (Omar Emilio Carrera Félix) 343

Policies for Access (Session 5B – May 20th, 2011)
El acceso universal a las telecomunicaciones y su vínculo con las políticas de banda ancha en América Latina (Roxana Barrantes Cáceres and Aileen Agüero García) 353
Políticas Públicas que Incentivan el Uso de las TICs: el caso de Culiacán, Sinaloa, México (Ana Elizabeth Ramírez Gómez and Ana Luz Ruelas Monjardin) 365

ICT in Education (Session 6B – May 20th, 2011)
¿Cómo debe ser un producto digital educativo? (Luis Alberto Lesmes Sáenz, Luz Dary Naranjo Colorado and Abdénago Yate Arévalo) 377
TIC e desenvolvimento na América Latina: uma análise sob a perspectiva da educação (Lucilene Cury and Luciana de Queiroz Telles Maffra) 385
Redes Multiexpresivas 2.0 en Educación: Estrategias de Análisis y Gestión en Educación Pública (Jose Cabrera Paz and Luisa Fernanda Acuña Beltrán) 391

Title: Sri Lanka builds telecentres for farm people
Author: Pia Rufino
Source: FutureGov
Date (published): 05/08/2011
Date (accessed): 09/08/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"The Sri Lankan government will be establishing 35 new e-Kiosk Centres with internet and satellite communication facilities this year to boost IT proficiency of the estate people in the country...The move is part of a bigger digital inclusion programme by the Saumyamoorth Thondaman Memorial Foundation under an Act of Parliament aimed at establishing 450 Prajashakthi (Community strengthening) centres...A similar project is being rolled out in the country called Rural Telecentre Network, known as Nenasala, and a network of PC labs in schools, aimed at narrowing the digital divide in rural areas.

To date, 615 nenasala are already established in the country."

Title: Gender Equality in Free and Open Source Software
Source: Wikigender
Date (published): 22/07/2011
Date (accessed): 01/08/2011
Type of information: wiki post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Gender Equality is one of UNESCO’s global priorities, together with Africa. Within this framework, UNESCO seeks to promote women empowerment and to mainstream gender in all UNESCO policies, strategies and programs.
UNESCO’s believes that the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) model provides interesting tools and processes with which women and men can create, exchange, share and exploit software and knowledge efficiently and effectively. FOSS can play an important role as a practical instrument for development as its free and open aspirations make it a natural component of development efforts in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The Community “Gender equality in free and Open Source Software” aims at creating a network of different institutions, networks and actors that deal with the Gender Gap in FOSS."

via http://www.ictdev.org/

Title: From ICT towards information society : Policy strategies and concepts for employing ICT for reducing poverty
Author: Hannes Toivanen
Pages: 42 pp.
ISBN: 978-951-38-7500-8
Source: VTT Working Papers 158
Publisher: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Date (published): 23/02/2011
Date (accessed): 22/07/2011
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"ICT is recognized as an important vehicle to address global development challenges. As a general purpose tech- nology, ICT has the evident potential to improve the delivery of basic services, such as health, education and information, in under-served areas and regions, and thereby address many of the deprivation conditions that cre- ate and maintain poverty. Deservedly, policy frameworks and practices of harnessing knowledge, new technolo- gies and ICT for the benefit of the world’s poor are being re-considered in the developing countries, donor gov- ernments, as well as by academics and other stake-holders.
This paper approaches the possibilities offered by ICT in development specifically from the vantage point of the new ICT ecosystem, as proposed by Martin Fransman, and its underlying sectoral innovation system. While this may be un-orthodox and unaccustomed perspective in the context of development and poverty alleviation, it enhances our understanding how different stake-holder groups, even regions and countries, can relate and employ ICT.
Regions, countries, organizations, communities and people differ greatly in their capacity to create, adopt and use new technology. Economic, social, cultural and technological factors determine to a great degree how people can access and shape new technologies and their applications. These varying factors are well identified in litera- ture on development of ICT in Sub-Saharan Africa, but less attention has been given to how hierarchically organ- ized ICT ecosystem, consisting of technological, economic and social elements, shapes these opportunities.
This report offers a short theoretical and conceptual discussion of ICT strategies in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa, and investigates in more detail the Tanzanian case."