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OECD launches new broadband portal

This portal provides a wide range of broadband indicators on penetration rates, usage, geography, prices, speeds and services. For example, the 221 million broadband subscribers in the OECD area spend an average of USD 49 per month for broadband and receive an average advertised connection of 13.7 megabits per second. The portal can be found at www.oecd.org/sti/ict/broadband.

The Internet economy: Towards a better future

The Future of the Internet Economy will be the subject of the first OECD ministerial meeting ever to be hosted in Asia. Taking place 17-18 June 2008 in Seoul, Korea, it will examine the implications of the rapid growth in the use of the Internet for our economies and societies and the policies needed for continued growth. STI Director Susanne Huttner discussed the forthcoming Ministerial in a recent article in the OECD Observer

Results of the OECD Online Public Consultation on the Ministerial meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy

The OECD recently invited public comments on issues such as convergence, innovation and trust, all of which will be discussed at the June 2008 OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy. The consultation, open from end July to end September, provided an opportunity for all interested stakeholders to contribute to the discussions with their expertise and to provide a wider range of viewpoints. Responses are now available on line, and include contributions from eBay Canada, the Internet Society of Australia, INTUG, consumer associations, and several universities.

Most recent compendium of indicators including ICT statistics

The OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2007 covers a wide range of indicators of which a fifth are specifically focused on ICTs. For example, 80% of Korean households have high-speed broadband access, the highest in the OECD. In 2006, over 60% of Internet users in Iceland, Norway and Finland engaged in on-line banking.

Recent Reports

• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID): A Focus on Information Security and Privacy (January 2008). The increasing deployment of RFID across a variety of application areas brings significant economic promise. But is RFID sufficiently secure and privacy-friendly? This paper clarifies the capabilities and limitations of RFID, identifies the information security and privacy challenges it can raise, and suggests measures and safeguards that can be implemented to address them.

• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Implementation in Germany: Challenges and Benefits (November 2007). This study compares the implementation of RFID across a range of different sectors. It is based on leading companies in Germany that are early adopters of RFID technology or undertaking pilot or implementation projects. It draws on in-depth interviews with a broad range of industry sectors, academics and research institutes.

• Measuring the impacts of ICT using official statistics (January 2008). Policy makers everywhere want to know about the social and economic impacts of ICT. This paper examines what official statistics tell us about these impacts and suggests areas for future work.

• IPTV: Market developments and regulatory treatment (December 2007). Television delivered over Internet Protocol (IPTV) by changing the distribution model for video content is also putting pressure for a review of broadcast regulatory frameworks in order not to stifle innovation and the diffusion of new services. This paper examines current market trends and regulation for IPTV and also provides information on developments in the provision of IPTV service in a number of OECD countries.

• Broadband and ICT access and use by households and individuals (December 2007). The Internet is part of everyday life for a billion people and is driving major changes in people's lives. This study analyses the use of Internet and broadband in detail, showing that people’s socio-economic standing have a direct bearing on how they are used.

• Participative Web and User-Created Content: Web 2.0, Wikis and Social Networking, (October 2007). The Internet is becoming increasingly embedded in everyday life. Drawing on an expanding array of intelligent web services and applications, a growing number of people are creating, distributing and exploiting user-created content (UCC) and being part of the wider participative web. This study describes the rapid growth of UCC and its increasing role in worldwide communication, and draws out implications for policy.

Statistics

About Us

The goal of the OECD's work on Information and Communication Policy is to help governments maximise the benefits of the "information society". Emerging trends in ICT technologies, applications and uses constantly challenge policy development and co-ordination. Through benchmarking and analysis, the OECD is able to help countries with analysis, recommendations and best practices. More information about OECD work on the information society.

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