Digital Divide Remains a Reality for Much of World
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan addressed the United Nations General Assembly Monday and cited a lingering of the digital divide as a main component of prosperity--or lack thereof--in many of the world's developing countries.
Annan was backed up by Yoshio Utsumi, secretary-general of the International Telecommunications Union, with data that shows there are 80 countries with less than 10 phones lines for every 100 inhabitants, and in roughly 60 percent of countries, less than one percent of people use the Internet.
"Some countries have prospered while others have fallen behind," Utsumi said. "If we do not take any action, the gap between the information 'haves' and 'have nots' will continue to grow."
A majority of the Assembly's participants agreed that information and communication technologies have seen slow progress in development in some countries--even though the technologies could play a major role in encouraging economic growth--and requested governments, civic groups and the UN to commit resources to the problem.
Worldwide Forecast for Digital Television is Sunny
Strategy Analytics recently released its forecast for worldwide uptake of digital TV, and the result is that despite some recent struggles for the technology, subscribers are increasing their numbers--a good sign for the future of the technology, according to the research firm.
Strategy Analytics' predictions include 103 million homes worldwide using the digital TV format by the end of 2002. The group also extends its predictions to 2008, when it believes there will be 374 million homes across the globe using the technology via both satellite and cable services.
The terrestrial version of digital TV, via cable operators, is expected to outpace satellite digital TV uptake by 2003--from 15.9 million homes by the end of 2003 for cable and only 15.4 million homes for satellite.
The research also indicates that although the United States and Western Europe currently account for 78 percent of homes with digital TV, by 2008 more than 28 percent of the DTV market will reside in the Asia-Pacific region.
US E-tailers See Profits in 2001
Shop.org's annual study of online retailing is showing a resilience in the e-commerce market, despite an economic downturn during much of 2001.
Of U.S. online retailers, fully 56 percent reported a profit in 2001--up 13 percent over 2000. Consumers also purchased 21 percent more in 2001, to reach $51.3 billion in online consumer sales. Additionally, operating margins for online retailers went from a loss of 15 percent to a loss of only 6 percent and allowed Shop.org to predict a market break-even point sometime in 2002.
Data from the study showed a drop in marketing costs for online retailers that could help account for the increase in profitability. Marketing costs per order went from $20 in 2000 to $12 in 2001. Repeat customers also boosted this number and accounted for 53 percent of revenue in 2001--a jump of 13 percent over 2000.
Broadband Takes Off in Singapore
Online research firm NetValue has released data on broadband uptake in Singapore that reveals a staggering increase in uptake in the last few months.
Home broadband user numbers have jumped 35 percent in the last six months to reach 172,000 users by the end of March 2002. October 2001 recorded only 135,000 home broadband users in the country.
The study also included some demographic data on the high-speed Internet users in Singapore: 72 percent are male and 45 percent are between the ages of 15 and 24. As compared to their compatriot dial-up Internet users, broadband users spend 86 percent longer on audio streaming, 56 percent longer on their email and 44 percent longer on online gaming.
Mobile Internet Lacks Desirability in Australia
While the majority of the world's mobile phones are increasingly adding wireless Internet capability to their repertoire of functions, Australians lag in their uptake of the technology as cited in a study by AT Kearney and reported on by The Age.
The most enthusiastic wireless Internet users are the Japanese, with 67 percent having phones enabled with the Internet. Australia is at the opposite end of the scale with a mere 25 percent owning the same types of devices.
Of the Australians polled by AT Kearney, 49 percent indicated they had little interest in using Internet-enabled mobile phones. Other reasons cited for the apparent apathy were cost concerns (19 percent) and unfamiliarity with the technology (18 percent).