According to the World Report on Disability – issued jointly by the World Health Organization and the World Bank – approximately one billion people worldwide live with some form of disability.

The importance of extending ICTs to persons with disabilities and special need has become more critical than ever.

Within this context, Article 8B in the recently amended International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) calls on ITU Member States to promote access for persons with disabilities to international telecommunication services.

The ITU Development Bureau has been supporting ITU Members to ensure accessible ICTs for persons with disabilities through a range of activities and resources.

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ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Toure will be delivering keynote remarks and chairing an international panel on policies and programmes for ICT accessibility at the M-Enabling Summit being held in Washington DC on 5 December. This multi-stakeholder Summit will bring together key players from industry, government and regulatory agencies, civil society, international and regional organizations and funding partners among others to share experiences and showcase the latest mobile applications and services for seniors and persons with disabilities.

• Standards and accessibility
  
• Development and accessibility

TelecomWeb is reporting that the number of broadband subscribers in the world surpassed the 400 million mark in November 2008. Global broadband subscribers amounted to only 57,000 ten years ago in 1998, but are projected to exceed 680 million in another five years (2013), despite the current economic situation.

Source: Point Topic.

However, the geographical distribution of broadband subscribers is very concentrated. ITU monitors prices for fixed broadband access around the world and estimates that commercial fixed broadband access was available in some 181 countries in 2007.  According to Point Topic, only forty countries account for some 98% of all global broadband subscribers presently. 

Such an intense concentration of broadband subscribers (in mainly OECD countries, China and a few other countries) has strong implications for reshaping the digital divide - broadband technology offers opportunities for using advanced applications in enhanced Internet access, but Internet users in many countries may continue to be excluded from high-speed Internet access. ITU continues to monitor the development of the digital divide and is undertaking many projects to bring high-speed broadband Internet access to rural and underserved areas.

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The Egyptian Government launched a new ICT portal on 23 October 2008 as a collective effort between Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) and its affiliates, the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA) and Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The portal covers many different sectors, including telecommunication infrastructure, households, the business sector, the Governmental sector, public access points (IT clubs and Internet cafes) and the education sector.

The project builds a database within MCIT for ICT indicators which will help in measuring and analyzing the information society in Egypt, according to international standards and analysis. It aims to build capacity in the area of ICT indicators, monitor ICT usage in Egypt within different sectors and across different geographic regions. Providing decision-makers with early, accurate ICT indicators will help them in setting policies and strategies related to the ICT sector.

The portal uses the categories of ICT indicators as defined by the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, of which ITU is a founding member.

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Maravedis is reporting that, according to a recent survey by Nortel (based on a survey of 2,400 people), there is a growing trend towards hyperconnectivity: 16% of Internet users live a “hyperconnected” life, meaning they regularly use more than 7 devices and more than 9 applications; 36% are “increasingly connected,” meaning they use 4 devices and 9 applications; 20% are passive online users, and 28% are not very connected. Today’s users want networks that support voice services, while entertainment and media applications are also increasingly popular.

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Business News Americas conducted an insightful interview with Aptilo Networks' CEO Torbjorn Ward. Aptilo Networks, a Swedish vendor of integrated service management and access control solutions for WiMAX networks, is witnessing considerable growth in WiMAX markets in the Caribbean and South American regions.

Speaking from the WiMAX World conference in Chicago earlier this week, Ward noted that the business case for WiMAX in developing markets is very different to that in developed markets. In developing nations, wireless infrastructure is deployed to provide voice and Internet coverage to remote areas lacking fixed-line infrastructure. While mobile penetration is often high, broadband penetration is typically very low. In developed markets, WiMAX operators are pushing the concept of advanced 4G connectivity.

On the debate about whether WiMAX or LTE will prove more dominant, Ward observed "this not a horse race in which there is going to be a winner or loser". He noted that there are a variety of technologies competing to provide fixed broadband to the home (such as DSL over copper or fiber and cable).  Ward suggested that LTE is the obvious migration path for mobile operators, while WiMAX may appeal more to greenfield operators. "Who is winning [between cable or wireline operators]?  If you are a cable operator you can only work with cable and if you're a wireline operator you can only work with DSL," Ward said. "My point is that's exactly the same thing when it comes to WiMax and GSM and LTE. If you're a GSM operator, you can offer that over mobile broadband and later LTE. If you're not a GSM license holder, you can offer WiMAX".

Ward quoted Ron Resnick, president of the WiMAX Forum, as stating that there are 1,700 WiMAX licenses in the process of being issued worldwide, in addition to the 300-400 WiMAX operators already active today.

For more information, please see here.

The UK research firm Point Topic report in the results of their latest survey that mobile phone networks have finally overtaken WiFi hotspots as UK consumers' most popular way of accessing the Internet, whilst on the move. Point Topic’s recent survey of mobile broadband users shows that the UK mobile phone companies have managed to grow their market share to 47% of users accessing the Internet away from home or work, compared with 42% who prefer WiFi hotspots. One year earlier, the ratio was 40:30 in favour of WiFi.

Point Topic suggest that a year of heavy marketing of mobile broadband in the intensely competitive market is the main reason for the growth inmobile broadband's popularity, with five operators fighting for market share. Their research suggested that 26% or a quarter of those who use a mobile network to access the Internet are customers of O2, while Orange and Vodafone each take about a fifth or 20% of the market. T-Mobile and 3 have 14% and 12% respectively.

Mobile operators have a big size advantage over the WiFi service providers, who are relatively small and fragmented. But it is a lot cheaper to send data over WiFi and, unlike the mobile networks, WiFi has no problems with capacity. Point Topic predicts that "dual-mode operation, with mobile broadband users defaulting to WiFi where it’s available, will be the way of the future".

For more information, see here.

15% of Europeans suffer from some form of disability, and many face barriers such as reading a website's small text or even knowing how to access websites and online services. Despite repeated calls by the EU and government leaders to improve this situation, progress remains limited: by far the majority of websites fail to use universally accepted user-friendly solutions. Today the European Commission launched a public consultation on further measures to make websites in Europe accessible, starting with those of public administrations, and invites stakeholders to give their views. It also addresses other technologies like digital television. The consultation is open until 27 August 2008. [More...]

• ITU and accessibility