Session 3 Bridging Digital Divide through Innovative & Creative Digital Economy

1. Session 3 Bridging Digital Divide through Innovative & Creative Digital Economy Background Paper Ms. Sireerat Bunnag Project Manager ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific sireerat.bunnag@itu.int 17 May 2012

2. Concept of Digital Divide • The gap in access to information resources in some countries compared with those state-of-the-art networks: telephone, radio, TV, internet, satellite. • It is the difference in facilities for people to communicate, relative to location, living standard, and education which results in country’s economic and social situation.

3. Current situation • ITU: There Are Now Over 1 Billion Users Of Social Media Worldwide, Most On Mobile Source: The 2012 “Trends In Telecommunication Reform” report says it has 901 million monthly active users which can be interpreted that: mobile is fast becoming the main way that the vast majority of people are using its service.

4. Broadband • ITU notes in the last five years, the number of fixed broadband usershas nearly doubled, and by early 2012 they stood at 591 million — in other words, equivalent to just over half of the number of all social media users. • penetration of broadband services in the industrialized countries only 26 percent, while in developing countries is as low as 4.8 percent

5. How big is the gap? • Overall, there are still 5 billion people worldwide that have “never experienced even low-speed Internet, or have only experienced it through public or shared access,”. • There are some very much on the other side of the digital divide not using broadband, either.

6. ITU Regional Development Forum 2012

7. Highlight of the focus areas • ICT Applications and Services • e-government, e-learning, etc. • Creative Digital Economy • lack of infrastructure and illiteracy • Universal Access • liberalized market • Job Creation • Innovation & creation of new services • Public-Private Partnership • pilot projects & potential investors

8. What Goals Should We Work for in Addressing the Digital Divide? Prepare all young people with the technology literacy skills needed for today's jobs and civic life. Ensure that schools and communities equip individuals with the technology skills they will need to be contributing members of society. Adequate funding is provided for schools and communities that will allow them to offer technology resources. Put technology to work to address the needs of low-income and underserved communities.

9. Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications, Japan Servei de Telecomunicacions d’Andorra MICT I.R. Iran To achieve the goals & implement the initiativestogether,We look for enhancing partnership (PPPP) National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), Thailand European Commission Telecom Regulatory Commission Sri Lanka We welcome new partnerships Government of India Asian Development Bank

10. I Thank U ITU : http://www.itu.int ITU Asia Pacific : http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/asp/CMS/index.asp