توسعه شاخصهای زیر ساخت های مخابراتی و رادیو و تلویزیون در سطح جهانی

The importance of information and communication technology (ICT) in economic development has been increasing rapidly along with the Internet and mobile telecommunication networks. ICT development is becoming a main growth factor of many countries. As they realize the importance of the ICT industry, developing nations work to catch up with established economies. Therefore, many nations are formulating an ICT-enhanced policy. This paper introduces a number of telecommunication and broadcasting sub-indices, which include the fixed telephone network, the Internet, and mobile networks, which are aggregated into a composite Telecommunication Index (TI). The indices are computed using principal component analysis and human development type index methods. The country rankings, by different ICT-related indices, help identify the strengths and weaknesses of infrastructure development such that each country can foster economic growth. The performance of TI is compared with several other indices, such as the digital access, human development, and ArCo technology indices. The type of indices affects the country ratings. Results suggest that the parametric index approach may be preferred over those methods in which the subjective weighted summation of normalized variables used (non-parametric indices).

For the last decade, information and communications technology (ICT) has played a major role in national and international economic growth. Therefore, ICT development has become one of the main economic growth factors for national economies. Developed countries exhibit higher ICT investment than do the developing countries. However, most developing countries have recently realized the importance of ICT investment, such as for building related infrastructures, maintaining national databases, and enhancing ICT policies. By uncovering evidence of the positive effects on economic growth, many researchers and economists have spurred the movement toward ICT investment. The literature has been growing since the 1990s. Most economists, researchers, and policy makers now agree on the importance of ICT as a major contributor in domestic and global economic development. Therefore, information on the ICT position of any country provides helpful data for initiating a successful national policy focused on ICT development. It will especially benefit developing countries as they seek the keys to the success that led to ICT development in leading economies. Many researchers have compared economic performance across countries in terms of indices, such as the Human Development Index (HDI) (see Archiburgi & Coco, 2005). However, the cited indices do not rank countries solely by data on ICT-related infrastructure. Moreover, the increased significance of telecommunication and broadcasting service convergence, such as that involving Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), Voice over Internet Protocol, WiMax, and Internet Protocol (IP) telephony, represents a profound reshaping of the industry. As those services depend on the telecommunication and broadcasting infrastructures, the level and the size of national investment into the underpinnings of these technologies is expected to greatly impact the economy. Use of sub-indices and a composite infrastructure index could help countries evaluate their potential for better economic performance. Also nations will benefit from information on the isolated effects of telecommunication and broadcasting infrastructures on economic development and growth. In this study, telecommunication and broadcasting infrastructures are categorized into four main dimensions: the fixed telephone network (FTN), Internet, mobile, and broadcasting. It is argued that ranking countries based on these dimensions (a) shows the global position of each country with regard to ICT infrastructure and (b) pinpoints the sources of failure in developing ICT infrastructure. The sub-index rankings could help governments rationally develop policies and regulations through sector-specific targeting and by accounting for their position in relation to other countries. Moreover, through use of a weighted summation of normalized variables similar to that used by the United Nations Development Programme and other researchers (see Archiburgi & Coco, 2005; HDI), a composite Telecommunications Index (TI) for countries with available ranks in FTN, Internet, and mobile was calculated to show the overall global position of each country. Contributions to the literature can be summarized into two main areas. First, using as many relevant variables as possible, three telecommunication sub-indices were computed parametrically using principal component analysis (PCA). Secondly, using a non-parametric approach (weighted summation of normalized variables), a composite communications index was computed. Finally, using the PCA approach, a broadcasting index was also calculated. The paper is organized as follows. First, a review of previous research studies regarding ICT definition, indices, and categories is provided in Section 2. A summary of the two main factor analysis approaches, common factor analysis (CFA) and PCA, is offered in Section 3. Data descriptions and empirical results are given in 4 and 5, respectively. Following Section 6, guidelines for constructing better indices, Section 7 features the conclusion and suggestions for further research studies.

The development of ICT is becoming ever more essential for any individual country as well as the world economy. This paper has demonstrated, perhaps unsurprisingly, that developed countries are in the lead in most of the ICT-related infrastructure sectors analyzed here; however, some developing countries, for example, Hong Kong (China) and Singapore, are competing fully with their developed counterparts. In the past, catching up with developed countries in other industries, such as heavy steel, was very difficult because of the need for comprehensive long-term strategies/plans as well as intensive financial and other resources. The development of ICT is different because, while similar strategic planning is essential the quantum of capital investment required is much less. Therefore, a country can become a sector leader in a short time frame (5–10 years). Because of ICT technology developments, mainly in the Internet and mobile infrastructures, the cost of related equipment and bandwidth has been reduced. For instance, to improve Internet and broadcasting infrastructures in developing countries with large mountain areas, VSAT technology is affordable because the costs of bandwidth and the VSAT equipment are lower now than it was before. For the development of ICT, the role of leadership commitment and appropriate policy key factors in any country in addition to the number of projects and amount of resources invested in ICT. In this paper, the main objective has been to compute a number of sub-indices and composite telecommunications and broadcasting indices to rank countries using the parametric principal component analysis and the non-parametric weighted summation average method. The results are intended to help identify the weak segments in each country and the gap between developed and developing countries. Therefore, the results could help governments rationally develop policies and regulations through sector-specific targeting and by accounting for the position in relation to other countries. However, the results should be interpreted with caution. The method used to calculate each index (parametric vs. non-parametric), the number of observed years, the country ranking relative to other countries (developed and developing countries), and the type of technologies used (e.g., ADSL vs. ISDN in the case of the Internet sub-index) should be the focus of improvement for subsequent studies. In addition, other related factors are expected to affect ICT development, such as the education of the population studied, GDP, R&D, and inequality in income and opportunities. In understanding their potential, governments should investigate all factors that might affect their ICT development and modify ICT policies to promote rapid changes in the ICT sector. Looking at some of those additional factors and trying to include them in the computation of the ICT-related indices will improve policymakers’ knowledge and the direction of future research and public policy.