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Which are the five most-wired nations in the world today? We have short-listed five countries that are leaders in the wired revolution, with soaring tech innovations and a rapidly multiplying Internet community. We have looked at various parameters to arrive at the select some.
We have taken into account the Information Society Index (ISI) 2004, IDC's annual study, which evaluates the information wealth of 53 countries around the world. It combines 15 variables in four infrastructure pillars (computers, the Internet, telecommunications and social factors) to calculate and rank each nation's ability to access and utilise information and information technology. We have also considered the 'E-readiness' rankings for 2004, prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit of The Economist and IBM's Institute for Business Value, based on several factors including e-business climate, Internet connectivity, penetration of hot spots, technology infrastructure and policy environment.
However, keep in mind that estimates of broadband households vary among and the available rankings are dynamic in nature.
SINGAPORE
Population (millions): 3.54
Area: 683 sq km
Capital City: Singapore
Internet users (millions): 2.13 as of Sep 04 (60.2 percent penetration)
Broadband subscribers: 392,000 as of Dec 03
A global hub in Asia, Singapore is a kind of bellwether for the introduction of new technology, and is one of the most wired countries in the world.
Singapore ranks first in the Global Information Technology Report 2004-2005. Also, in the 2004 Annual E-readiness rankings by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Singapore emerged as the top country for Asia-Pacific. The island nation is also the second most wired country in the world, behind only the United States, according to the Networked Readiness Index rankings for 2004.
Singapore's strategic location has made it one of the most attractive business areas in Asia. It is situated within ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which represents a combined market of more than 500 million people. One of the world's most prosperous countries with the lowest rates of corruption, Singapore is a role model for its neighbours.
With the one of the most wired populations on earth, Singapore is ideal to initiate e-commerce and Internet marketing operations. Both the government and the IT industry work closely towards developing Singapore's reputation as Asia's most connected city. Singapore also has an 'Internet Code of Practice,' as a schedule to the Singapore Broadcasting Authority Act.
Singapore is host to more than 6,000 multi-nationals and its financial sector is well-plugged internationally. The high-tech and financial services industries are lightly regulated, and telecom was privatised in 2000.
Consider PSA Corporation, the company that developed and operates the port of Singapore, uses the Computer Integrated Terminal Operations System (CITOS, a proprietary ERP application) and Portnet, an e-business system that provides paperless one-stop shipping for the port and its customers. The port handles 250 shipping lines with connections to 600 ports in 123 countries, and daily sailings to every major port on the globe. Today, Singapore's port enjoys first-mover status as the world's IT leader in seaport logistics and operations.
An early adopter of broadband technology and an innovator in broadband applications, Singapore is a world leader in broadband rollout and benefits from strong government-industry cooperation. Singapore has hundreds of broadband access points in homes, educational institutes, offices and in public.
DENMARK
Capital City: Copenhagen
Population (millions): 5.4
Households (millions): 2.5
Country Area: 43,093 sq km
GDP ($million): 215, 029
IT Spending ($million): 7,432
Internet Users (millions): 3.72 as of March/05, 68.7 percent penetration
Broadband subscribers: 462,000
The erstwhile seat of Viking raiders, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation. A small country of islands, located in Northern Europe, Denmark has an advanced broadband infrastructure and one of the highest levels of broadband penetration services in Europe.
In fact, Denmark displaced Sweden as the information champion in the IDC Information Society Index (ISI) 2004. In comparison with the US, Denmark emerged a winner, primarily due to a lead in the telecom variable--notably wireless subscribers--and high user penetration and mobile Internet users.
Almost 69 per cent of the Danish population accesses the Internet, with 84 per cent connecting from home, 22 per cent of households are using broadband while the total mobile subscriber penetration in Denmark has reached 60 per cent. Even the EIU and IBM's Institute for Business Value in its 2005 business environment rankings has proclaimed Denmark to be the best place in the world to conduct business over the next five years. Denmark maintained its number one position from the 2004 e-readiness rankings when measured by the nearly 100 quantitative and qualitative criteria that IBM and the EIU established for the survey.
According to the Computer Industry Almanac Inc., Denmark is among the leading countries in computer and Internet penetration, and estimates that, as of 2004, there are 682 surfers per 1,000 Denmark residents, compared to 649 in Australia; 641 in Canada; 611 in Japan; 570 in the UK; and 628 in the US.
Denmark has it all--highly developed infrastructure and institutions, a skilled labour force, low inflation rates, political and economic stability and sophisticated financial sector. The liberal market access is underlined by the privatisation of the telecoms sector. High public spending has resulted in widespread availability of high-speed internet connections, an extensive telephone network and well-run utilities, essential for technology intensive industries.
In 2004, the market was characterised by high penetration levels in voice and data services, including WAP and GPRS. There is increased price competition with four main operators-Tele Danmark (TDC), Sonofon, Telia and Orange, and numerous resellers in the market. Its highly educated and mostly urban population takes easily to new technologies, and has made Denmark a test-bed for new products. Wireless Internet connections and WAP telephony, amongst others, were launched in Denmark, and the consumers' reactions were used for benchmarking.
Further progress is expected over the next five years, as the government has promised to boost spending on research and development and facilitate the creation of knowledge industries clusters.
CANADA
Population (millions): 32.5
Area: 9,976,137 sq km
Capital City: Ottawa
GDP ($million): 892,062
IT Spending ($million): 25,226
Internet users: 20,450,000 (as of Dec 03; 63.8 per cent penetration)
Broadband subscribers (million): 5.2 (as of Dec 04)
Canada has one of the highest rates of Internet usage and broadband adoption in the world. Canada ranked fifth on the Information Society Index published by research firm IDC this year. Canadians are heavy Web users, with 90 per cent using e-mail at least weekly.
Residential broadband access enjoyed continued growth in 2004 as the increase in dial-up accounts slowed. There were around five million residential broadband subscribers in 2004, amounting to 67 per cent of Internet users.
Broadband deployment continues to progress under active government encouragement, with 85 per cent of Canadians now living in communities served by high-speed Internet access. Both cable modem and DSL services are achieving high levels of penetration. At the same time, anti-spam/virus software company, Sophos, ranked Canada as the fourth high-spamming nation in the world in November 2004 with 5.7 per cent spam originating from Canada.
According to a Broadband and Consumer E-Commerce in Canada (Dec 2004 Review) by Internet World Stats, Cable TV subscriptions have declined over the past few years as DTH satellite services have become more popular due to better pricing and a greater range of services.
The 2004/2005 Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Canada Report by BuddeComm indicate almost 43 per cent of Canadians use a wireless device. In 2005, operators may move towards 3G services to complement existing Wi-Fi offerings. The IP-VPN services have also increased with the proliferation of broadband access. VoIP is growing steadily in Canada.
The federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) sets out a number of rules for protecting personal information. The Government of Canada launched an Anti-Spam Action Plan in May 2004. The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) operates the dot-ca Internet country code Top Level Domain. In fact, there are more than 530,000 .ca domain names already.
SWEDEN
Population (millions): 9.04
Households (millions): 4.04
Country Area: 449,965 sq km
GDP ($million): 310,201
IT Spending ($million): 10,918
Capital City: Stockholm
Internet Users: 6,656,716 (as of Feb 05; 73.6 per cent penetration); 693,000 broadband subscribers (as of Dec 02)
Another Scandinavian nation, Sweden has one of the world's highest life expectancies and one of the lowest birth rates. This year, the EIU named this Nordic nation of nearly nine million people as best-in-class in key areas of connectivity, such as mobile penetration and Internet use, and a standard setter in e-government implementation. In the EIU's annual survey of the e-business environment in 65 countries, Sweden was outperformed only by Denmark and the US. A world-class technological hub, Sweden ranked second in the Information Society Index by IDC in 2004. Sweden has the world's highest penetration of Internet access, the highest usage of mobile phones, and a very high level of Internet and computer skills among business managers. For instance, Sweden has the highest business penetration rate for both Microsoft Windows and Apple OS.
The country is also the world's most advanced testing ground for a range of mobile commerce applications. The GSM, WCDMA, EDGE and Bluetooth technologies were all invented in Sweden. A gadget loving populace, the Swedes have successfully used the Internet to enhance business transactions, and incorporated the medium into their daily routines, while the government has driven development.
Sweden is advanced in the deployment of wireless infrastructures, including 2G, 2.5G, 3G and WLAN. The country's WCDMA 3G mobile infrastructure covers over 70 percent of the population, state wireless consultants Northstream.
This year, according to an article in Computer Sweden, Sweden has become the first country in the world to introduce an open standard for electronic identification via mobile phones, enabling consumers to do their banking business, file their tax forms or even vote by simply using a mobile phone. Behind the service is BankID, an alliance of Swedish banks, telecom operators and the telecom equipment supplier Ericsson.
Incidentally, Sweden is the only country in the world to have more mobile phones than inhabitants. This is thanks to lower calling costs than any other European country!
Sweden is the most tech savvy country in Europe according to a new report by Jupiter Research (2005), a US market analysis firm, which said the use of digital products such as cell phones, televisions, Internet equipment and cameras was highest in Sweden and its fellow Scandinavian countries Denmark and Norway.
In 2005, one in three Swedes filed their annual tax returns electronically-double the 2004 figure-according to Swedish Inland Revenue service Skatteverket. Of the 6.5 million tax forms due by the May 2 deadline, 2.1 million were received via the Internet, text message or mobile phone.
The United States of America
Population (million): 296
Households (million): 113.7
GDP ($million): 11,501,766
IT Spending ($million): 395,070
Area: 9,629,047 sq km
Capital City: Washington D.C.
Internet users (M): 200.9 as of Feb 05 (67.8 per cent penetration); 69,431,802 broadband users (as of Dec 04)
The US ranked third on the Information Society Index of IDC, 2004 and ranked second on 'e-readiness' (by EIU, 2005), moving up from sixth place last year. This land of silicon chip innovators and manufacturers scored the highest for computers based on PCs per household and software spending, steadfast in its position as the world's largest consumer of computer products and services. The US also ranked higher this year because of secure Internet server penetration, overall spending on IT and growth in broadband adoption.
There has been continued growth in broadband penetration in the US, which remains the world's leading broadband usage country with 31.7 million lines in the third quarter of 2004. The number of broadband users increased 36 per cent in 2004, accounting for 55 per cent of the total at-home users by the end of 2004, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.
Nearly three out of four US households with a phone line have access to the Internet, according to a February 2004 Nielsen/NetRatings survey. At workplaces, of those connected to the Internet, 77.2 per cent enjoy a high-speed connection.
About one-third of the wireless services budget in the US is now dedicated to data, indicating its increasing importance in the business environment. The vast majority (91 per cent) of US companies use wireless data either on a limited or a widespread basis. According to research group Point Topic, the total number of US DSL (digital subscriber line) subscribers is growing, but still lags behind the country's 19 million-plus cable modem subscribers. The US added 3.2 million new DSL subscriptions, for a total of 12.6 million by the end of September 2004.
In July 2004, residential broadband connections overtook the use of slower, dial-up connections for the first time. With the growing use of e-mail, 'spam' (unsolicited e-mail) is also rising, which is costing US businesses billions of dollars in screening equipment and lost productivity. The US continues to lead the world in originating spam attacks; accounting for over two out of every five (42.1 per cent) spam e-mails sent throughout the world says anti-spam/virus software company Sophos.
The US Federal Government awarded $155 billion in IT-related programme contracts in 2004, a 60 per cent increase over the $95 billion it awarded in 2003, according to INPUT, a government spending watchdog.
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