Canada’s ICT ranking slips globally

Canada slipped from 9th to 19th spot between 2002 and 2007 in the International Telecommunication Union’s new ICT Development Index (IDI), which compares developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) in 154 countries. The most advanced countries in ICT are from Northern Europe. Sweden tops the new ITU ICT Development Index, followed by the Republic of Korea, Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland and Norway. They are followed by other, mainly high-income countries from Europe, Asia and North America. Western and Northern Europe and North America are the regions with the highest IDI scores, and most countries from these regions are among the top 20 ICT economies. Poor countries, in particular the least developed countries, remain at the lower end of the index with limited access to ICT infrastructure, including fixed and mobile telephony, Internet and broadband. Similar to the US, Canada improved in both ICT access and usage, but less than other top countries. For example, mobile cellular penetration was only 62% in 2007, and fixed telephone line penetration decreased in the five-year period. Mobile broadband just started, with only 1.5 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants at the end of 2007.The lowest relative broadband prices are available in the United States and Canada, followed by Switzerland, Denmark and Luxembourg. The report also compares prices for each of the three technologies — fixed and mobile telephony and Internet broadband. Looking at purchasing power parity tariffs, the cost of fixed telephony is lowest in Iran, followed by Taiwan (China) and the United Arab Emirates. The cost of mobile cellular telephony is lowest in Hong Kong (China), followed by Denmark and Singapore. The cost of Internet broadband is lowest in the United States, followed by Canada and Switzerland. The US and Canada also have relatively cheap broadband PPP prices. The Northern American average broadband Internet price (PPP $ 15.7) is the lowest among all regions. The Index combines 11 indicators into a single measure that can be used as a benchmarking tool globally, regionally and at the country level. These are related to ICT access, use and skills, such as households with a computer the number of Internet users; and literacy levels.

Canada’s ICT ranking slips globally

Briefs | 03/09/2009 5:26 pm EDT

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