An Extraordinary Meeting of the Expert Group on ICT Household Indicators (EGH) and Expert Group on Telecommunication/ICT Indicators (EGTI) was held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 1-3 March 2017.
This meeting served as a follow-up to the joint meeting of the 7th EGTI and 4th EGH, which was held in October 2016, in which it was decided to review the indicators included in the ICT Development Index (IDI) and to create a special EGTI/EGH sub-group to carry out this task. The decision was later endorsed by the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS), which was held in Botswana from 21 to 23 November 2016. In addition to the work of the sub-group, an independent group of experts was also engaged to study this matter and make recommendations.
The meeting was open to all ITU members and experts in the field of ICT statistics and data collection. It was organized by the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and hosted by ITU.
The main objective of the Extraordinary Meeting was to discuss, debate and agree on a revised set of indicators to be included in the IDI, based on the two input documents prepared by the sub-group and the independent group of experts.
The Extraordinary Meeting adopted a total of 14 indicators to be included in the IDI compared to the current list of 11 indicators. The changes to the list of IDI indicators agreed on by the Extraordinary Meeting are the following:
1. Two indicators were dropped from the current list of IDI indicators:
a. fixed-telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants and
b. mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants.
2. In addition, the indicator on fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants was modified into fixed-broadband subscriptions by speed tiers as a percentage of total fixed-broadband subscriptions and, at the same time, moved from the Use sub-index to the Access sub-index.
3. Five indicators were added to the IDI:
a. percentage of the population covered by mobile networks (at least 3G and at least LTE/WiMax),
b. mobile-broadband Internet traffic per mobile-broadband subscription,
c. fixed-broadband Internet traffic per fixed-broadband subscription,
d. percentage of individuals who own a mobile phone, and
e. proportion of individuals with ICT skills.
4. The table below summarizes the revised list of indicators to be included in the IDI that was adopted by the Extraordinary Meeting of the EGTI and EGH:
| Access | Use | Skills |
| Percentage of households with a computer | Percentage of individuals using the Internet | Mean years of schooling |
| Percentage of households with Internet access | Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants | Gross enrollment ratio (secondary level) |
| International Internet bandwidth (bit/s) per Internet user | Mobile-broadband Internet traffic per mobile-broadband subscription | Gross enrollment ratio (tertiary level) |
Percentage of the population covered by mobile networks
- At least 3G
- At least LTE/WiMAX | Fixed-broadband Internet traffic per fixed-broadband subscription | Proportion of individuals with ICT skills |
For further details, please read the summary report, input documents, and presentations which can be accessed by logging in to either the EGTI or EGH online forums and clicking on the respective links below:
EGTI: http://www.itu.int/net4/ITU-D/ExpertGroup/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=25
EGH: http://www.itu.int/net4/ITU-D/forum/expertgrouponhouseholds/forum/yaf_postst341_Invitation-to-the-Extraordinary-Joint-EGH-EGTI-meeting.aspx
