Recognizing WSIS Impacts

Unless it acknowledges key characteristics of the Internet, the World Summit on the Information Society will easily undermine it

WTDC Resolution 8


WTDC RESOLUTION 8 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010)

Collection and dissemination of information and statistics

The World Telecommunication Development Conference (Hyderabad, 2010),

  • recalling
    • a)Resolution 8 (Rev. Doha, 2006) of the World Telecommunication Development Conference;
    • b)Resolution 131 (Rev. Antalya, 2006) of the Plenipotentiary Conference, on the information and communication technology (ICT) index and community connectivity indicators,
  • considering
    • a)that the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D), as the main source of international information and statistics on telecommunications/ICTs, performs a key role in the collection, coordination, exchange and analysis of information;
    • b)the importance of the existing Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) databases, in particular the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators (WTI) database and the regulatory database;
    • c)the usefulness of analytical reports published by ITU-D, such as the World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report, the Measuring the Information Society report and the Trends in Telecommunication Reform report,
  • considering further
    • a)that the ICT sector at the national level is reforming at an incredible pace;
    • b)that policy approaches vary and countries can benefit from the experiences of others,
  • recognizing
    • a)that, by acting as a clearing house for the exchange of information and statistics, BDT will be able to assist Member States inmaking informed national policy choices;
    • b)that the countries must participate actively inthis endeavour in order to make it successful;
    • c)that § 116 of the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society stresses that all indices and indicators must take into account different levels of development and national circumstances,
  • bearing in mind that statistics need to be improved in a collaborative, cost-effective and non-duplicative fashion,
  • recognizing further
    • a)that ICT statistics are extremely useful for the work of the study groups and in assisting ITU to monitor and evaluate ICT developments and measure the digital divide;
    • b)the new responsibilities to be held by ITU-D in relation to this subject, pursuant to the Tunis Agenda, in particular §§ 112 to 120 thereof,
  • resolves to instruct the Director ofthe Telecommunication Development Bureau
    • 1 to continue to support this activity by providing adequate resourcesand according it the necessary priority;
    • 2 to continue to work closely with Member States for the sharing of best practices concerning policy and national ICT strategies;
    • 3 to continue to survey countries and produce world and regional analytical reports which highlight country lessons and experiences, in particular on:
      • • trends in telecommunication sector reform;
      • • world telecommunication developments atregional and international level;
      • • trends on tariff policies, in collaboration with the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T);
    • 4 to rely primarily on information provided by Member States. Only in the absence of such information, other sources could be used;
    • 5 to establish and collect community connectivity indicators and to participate in the development of core indicators to measure efforts to build the information society and, by doing so, to illustrate the scale of the digital divide and the efforts of developing countries to close the gap;
    • 6 to monitor the development and improvement of methodologies relevant to indicators and methods of data collection through consultation with Member Statesand experts, particularly by means of World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators meetings (WTIMs);
    • 7 to review, revise and further develop benchmarking and ensure that ICT indicators and the single ICT Development Index (IDI) and the ICT Price Basket reflect the real development of the ICT sector, taking into consideration different levels of development and national circumstances, in application of the WSIS outcomes;
    • 8 to encourage countries to collect statisticalindicators and information illustrating national digital divides as well as the efforts made through various programmes to close the gap, showing the impact on different social sectors and persons with special needs;
    • 9 to strengthen ITU-D’s role in the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development by acting as a member of the steering committee and through active participation in discussions and activities geared to achieving the partnership’s main objectives;
    • 10 to provide statistics and regulatory information on the ITU-D website and to establish appropriate mechanisms and modalities for countrieswhich do not have electronic access to obtain this information;
    • 11 to provide technical assistance to the relevantnational authorities for the collection of ICT statistics, in particular by means of national surveys, and for the development of national databases containing statistics and regulatory policy information;
    • 12 to develop training material and conduct specialized training courses on information society statistics for developing countries;
    • 13 to unify all BDT information and statistical databases on the BDT website so as to respond to the objectives stated in §§ 113, 114, 115, 116, 117 and 118 of the Tunis Agenda, and to play a primary role in relation to §§ 119 and 120;
    • 14 to assist countries with indigenous populationsin developing indicators to evaluate the impact of ICTs on indigenous peoples that enablethe achievement of the objectives set forth in § C8 of the Geneva Plan of Action;
    • 15 to continue to cooperate withthe relevant international bodies, in particular the United Nations Statistics Division, and other international and regional organizations, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), involved in the collection and dissemination of ICT-related information and statistics;
    • 16 to consult regularly with Member Statesas to the definition of indicators and methodologies for data collection;
    • 17 to encourage and support Member States in the setting up of national centres for statistics on the information society;
    • 18 to begin putting this resolution into practice immediately after the conclusion of this conference by holding a meeting of experts within three months, with the purpose of setting the roadmap for the revision process, and to ensure that the results are taken into account as soon as possible, within the existing budget of BDT,
  • invites Member States and Sector Members
    • 1 to participate actively in this endeavourby providing the statistics and information solicited, and by engaging actively in discussions with BDT on ICT indicators and data-collection methodologies;
    • 2 to establish national systems or strategies for strengthening the consolidation of statistical information related to telecommunications/ICTs;
    • 3 to contribute with experiences of policies that have a positive impact on ICT indicators,
  • encourages
    • donor agencies and relevant United Nations agenciesto cooperate in providing relevant support and information on their activities.

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