While the ratio of the fixed telephone lines in developing and developed countries were 1:6 in 2000, the figure has come down to 1:4, the report said.
The ratio of mobile phones in developing and developed countries were 1:9 in 2000 and has shot up to 1:4, it said. Similarly, for every one Internet user in developing countries, there were 15 users in developed countries in 2000 and now the gap is down to 1:8, the report pointed out.
Another remarkable climb in terms of number was in the mobile phones in developing countries. Now, more than 58% of the mobile users are in the developing world and of the 3bn phones in use, 1.80bn accounts for mobiles alone.
It brings the total share of mobile telephones in the telecom market to 60%, the studies pointed out. The total number of mobile phones overtook those of landlines in the first half of 2002, he said.
However, disparities continue to exist as far as use of Internet is concerned. While the Americas and Europe have approximately 28% of its population hooked on to the information superhighway, Asia Pacific, Arab states and Africa are perched at 8.4%, 5.6% and 1.2% respectively.
However in the broadband segment, the Asia-Pacific region recorded major gains and in 2004, 41.4% of the region are already availing of these services.
North America and Europe have about 28% of their population using the services. Latin American countries (2.4%), Arab states (0.2) and Africa (0.1%) have very meagre share, studies revealed.
The report also calls for new thinking and an end to the domination of some regions when it comes to using the broadband services.
It also highlights the necessity of harnessing the potential of low-cost technologies, innovative business approaches and simplified regulations for making the services accessible to more people.
The ITU analysts have called for building synergies with other infrastructure sectors, universities and private-leased lines to deploy fibre backbones.
Community stakeholders should be encouraged to foster local broadband networks, the report says.
Bogdan and Gray have also pointed out in the report that ICTs have increased productivity, save time and money and contributed to social development.
The average time saved in each e-government transaction in European Union are (time in brackets): Income taxes (76 min), car registration (61), birth/marriage certificates (65) and registration of a company (75).
The studies also revealed that the ICT-enabled British Telecom allowed the corporation to save over £60mn per year.
Quelle: Gulf Times, 07.03.2006
