This report tracks the changing
dynamics driving the Information Society worldwide, with a new tool—the
Digital Opportunity Index (DOI)—that evaluates the opportunity,
infrastructure and utilization of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) for 180 economies worldwide. The Index monitors the
mobile communications that promise to bridge the digital divide in many
parts of the world, as well as more recent technologies such as
broadband and mobile Internet access. The price of broadband continues
to fall worldwide, by as much as twenty per cent a year over the last
two years according to ITU’s analysis, while broadband speeds continue
to increase. These trends are not restricted to developed countries,
however, with broadband now commercially available in 166 countries
worldwide. ITU, 2006.
