Trends in Global Telecommunications
INTRODUCTION
Telecommunication exists everywhere, -- at home, at work, at school, and even in cars - so it would be extremely difficult for anyone to be unaware of the popular trends in existing and emerging telecommunications technologies. In realizing these trends, past and present telecommunications technologies must be examined along with the measures currently being taken to improve them so that future trends can be predicted and developed.
WORLD TELECOMMUNICATION DEVELOPMENT REPORT
The International Telecommunications Union recently released a World Telecommunication Development Report (WDTR), which offers guidance on how to measure information and communication technology (ICT) access around the world. The report points out that there is a gap between digital and statistical data "within and between richer and poorer nations" (Minges et al). Michael Minges, the report's lead author, states in it that poor economies are ignored when Internet user surveys are conducted. He goes on to say that governments must become more actively involved in measuring access to ICTs in their respective nations in order to rise above the "data divide".
The Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of U...The report listed twenty-three e-ITU indicators, assembled by the International Telecommunications Union, that are based on the results of existing data and new analyses and surveys. The list could be considered as a global standard for accumulating equivalent data to keep tabs on how the information society is developing globally (see Table 1 for the list of indicators).
Table 1: The e-ITU Indicators
1Percentage of households with electricity13Student to computer ratio
2Percentage of households with a radio14Percentage of schools with Internet access
3Percentage of households with a television15Percentage of government offices with Internet access
4Percentage of households with a telephone16Percentage of government offices with a website
5Percentage of households with a personal computer17Percentage of government employees with Internet access
6Percentage of households...