News & Events

News

Technology industry shows signs of recovery

29-Jul-2009

A sudden upturn in global sales of information and communications technology (ICT) goods in May and June suggests the ICT industry may have reached a turning point and be on the road to recovery, according to a new OECD report.

Tougher rules needed to protect consumers, says OECD

08-Jul-2009

Financial services firms must make sure their customers understand what they are letting themselves in for when they sign up for mortgages, consumer loans and other products, under new OECD guidelines designed to avoid a repeat of the sub-prime mortgage crisis and ensuing credit crunch that sent the world economy into recession.

OECD releases Guide to Measuring the Information Society 2009

08-Jul-2009

The newly released Guide to the Information Society 2009 covers the definition of industries producing ICT goods and services (the "ICT sector"), a classification for ICT goods, the definitions of e-commerce and Internet transactions, and model questionnaires and methodologies for measuring ICT use and e-commerce by businesses and households/individuals.

ENUM: Converging telephone numbers and addresses in next generation networks

01-Jul-2009

This paper provides an overview of developments in numbering, naming and addressing in the context of Next Generation Networks (NGN) with a focus on ENUM (tElephone NUmber Mapping). ENUM comprises a diverse set of standards and non-standardised mechanisms for transforming public telephone numbers into unique domain names.

Broadband over power lines (BPL): Developments and policy issues

01-Jul-2009

BPL technology seems to have a high potential to provide ubiquitous broadband access to households and businesses across a country. The fact that electricity is provided on a nationwide basis seemingly gives BPL an advantage.

The Role of Digital Identity Management in the Internet Economy

29-Jun-2009

This primer aims to provide policy makers a broad-brush understanding of the various dimensions of digital identity management (IdM). Consistent with the Seoul Ministerial Declaration, it also aims to support efforts to address public policy issues for securely managing and protecting digital identities, with a view to strengthening confidence in the online activities crucial to the growth of the Internet Economy.


Events

Using Sensor-Based Networks to Address Global Issues: Policy Opportunities and Challenges

from 08-Jun-2009 to 09-Jun-2009

This conference, to be held in Lisbon, aims to help policy makers understand sensor networks and their potential to help address global challenges. It will explore the conditions for and consequences of innovation in this area including economic aspects, privacy and information security as well as infrastructure issues.

High-level OECD Conference ICTs, Environment and Climate Change

from 27-May-2009 to 28-May-2009

The Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation will host a high-level OECD Conference on how ICTs can improve environmental performance and mitigate climate change in all sectors of the economy. One of the sessions will address the role of ICTs for sustainable consumption, and will highlight the importance of consumer protection and education in this respect. The event will gather representative from governments, business, and consumer organisations.

Joint OECD/ICPEN meeting on Electronic Commerce

on 01-Apr-2009

On 1 April 2009, the OECD Committee on Consumer Policy and the International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network (ICPEN) held a joint meeting on Electronic Commerce at the OECD Headquarters in Paris. Discussions at the joint meeting will inform the review of the 1999 OECD Guidelines on Consumer Protection in the Context of Electronic Commerce that is being carried out by the Committee on Consumer Policy.

OECD participation in the EMARS II Launch Event

from 16-Mar-2009 to 17-Mar-2009


The OECD participated in the EMARS II Launch Event, held on 16-17 March 2009, in Vienna. During the meeting the deliverables of the EMARS project were discussed. The OECD took part in the discussion on the future steps in EMARS II project and explored possibilities of closer co-operation with the European stakeholders in consumer product safety issues. Information on the deliverables produced under EMARS can be found at http://www.emars.eu/EMARS_Deliverables.html

UK-OECD Workshop on Innovation and Policy for Virtual Worlds

on 11-Mar-2009

How can virtual worlds contribute to innovation, to transformation of business, government and public services and to increasing transparency, improving innovative services delivery, and creating employment?
Should public policy frameworks be adapted to support governments, citizens, and businesses using virtual worlds to improve their performance? If so how?

Building the Business Case for Electronic Identity Management

from 19-Nov-2008 to 20-Nov-2008

Building the business case for digital identity management and understanding its fundamental role in the deployment of e-government and innovation in service delivery was the main focus of a seminar on 19-20 November 2008, held at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, where experts met to exchange experiences and good practices.

Consumer Product Safety: an OECD Roundtable

on 23-Oct-2008

The OECD Roundtable on Consumer Product Safety brought together representatives from government, the business and civil society to discuss emerging consumer product safety issues in OECD countries and non-member economies. Focusing on non-food items, and in light of recent developments and trends, participants examined the challenges in domestic and international consumer product safety regimes, and identified ways to address the problems, including through enhanced international information sharing.

Joint OECD-World Bank Conference on Innovation and Sustainable Growth in a Globalised World

from 18-Nov-2008 to 19-Nov-2008

Innovation is crucial to long-term economic growth. Making innovation-driven growth happen requires action on a wide range of policy areas, from education and science and technology to product and labour markets and trade. OECD and the World Bank are joining forces to work more closely on innovation, particularly insofar as this issue is a crucial factor in the success of development policy, notably in middle income market economies.

Building the Public Services of Tomorrow With, For and Around Customers

from 20-Oct-2008 to 22-Oct-2008

In his speech at the 5th Quality Conference for Public Administration in the EU, Secretary-General Angel Gurría emphasised that is it important for governments to put citizens at the centre of public services and increase their confidence in the state, especially in times of turmoil. 

International Workshop on Building Citizen-Centred Policies and Services, Ljubljana, 26-27 June 2008

from 26-Jun-2008 to 27-Jun-2008

This workshop provided a unique forum for policy dialogue and exchange of good practice, tools and tips for building citizen centred policy and services based on concrete experience. It was co-organised with Slovenia's Ministry of Public Administration with the support of the World Bank’s Communication for Governance & Accountability Program (CommGAP), DECIM, the European Citizen Advisory Service (ECAS) and Involve.



Top of page

Broadband Statistics

Now updated with data through December 2008

OECD Broadband Portal

Editor's Choice

The most recent comparable data on communication sector performance.

OECD Communications Outlook 2009