It is my pleasure to present to you the latest edition of Measuring the Information Society, which features the new ITU ICT Development Index . The Index captures the level of advancement of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in more than 150 countries worldwide and compares progress made between 2002 and 2007. Its main objective is to provide policy makers with a useful tool to benchmark and assess their information society developments and to monitor progress that has been made globally to close the digital divide.

During the past year, information and communication technologies (ICTs) continued to spread throughout the world, and more and more people have access to the Internet and its wealth of information and applications. Access to the Internet via mobile cellular networks has grown rapidly with the increasing availability of IMT- 2000/3G networks and enabled devices, including mobile handsets and data cards that allow users to access the Internet over the mobile cellular network using their computers. Internet access speeds are also increasing, with fixed broadband replacing dial-up in most developed countries, accompanied by a decline in tariffs.

Given its leading role in the collection and dissemination of telecommunication and ICT statistics worldwide, ITU is naturally well placed to develop a statistical tool that would allow countries to benchmark their information societies globally and regionally. With the revolutionary spread of ICTs during the past two decades, and the resulting impact on societies and economies, international calls for monitoring and benchmarking have increased. At the same time, since the turn of the century the availability of Internet-related data globally has increased, making it feasible to construct a composite index that combines several indicators into one single statistical value and compare it over a number of years. This is when ITU’s work on composite indices began.

The notion of the “digital divide”, the difference between the “have” and “have-nots” is something known and defined. It is often associated with imbalances in access to physical infrastructure, such as computers and Internet, or even conventional communication infrastructure, such as fixed telephone lines. Digital divides can exist between developed and developing countries (also known as global divide), or within a country (known as internal country divide). It can manifest itself in different demographic characteristics of the population, such as age, gender, income and race, or different locations, such as urban and rural. In whatever form or aspect one may want to look at it, one important question to address is “how can we measure/quantify it?”. Only once it is measured or known, can it be addressed effectively.

Monitoring the cost of ICT services is important because it influences or even determines whether people will subscribe to a certain service and use ICTs. Although ICT infrastructure is crucial in providing the basic prerequisite for citizens to access and use ICTs, the services offered have to be affordable. Besides other factors, a successful and vibrant Information Society therefore needs to be within its people’s means.

This Report presented an analysis of recent developments of the information society globally, regionally, and by countries. It has shown that by the end of 2008, the world had reached unprecedented ICT levels: over 4 billion mobile cellular subscriptions, 1.3 billion fixed telephone lines and close to a quarter of the world’s population using the Internet. Despite overall high growth rates, record numbers, and all-high penetration rates, major differences in ICT levels between regions and between the developed and developing economies remain.