Internet Access
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Yahoo! News - Wed, Nov 19, 2003 - Technology AP
UN: Scandinavia Ahead in Internet Access
By ALEXANDER G.
HIGGINS, Associated Press Writer
GENEVA
- Scandinavia tops the world in access to the Internet and other communications
technologies,
but South Korea and other Asian countries are catching up fast, the U.N.
communications
agency said Wednesday.
Sweden
came in first in the Digital Access Index, followed by Denmark and Iceland,
while
Norway
was fifth, said the International Telecommunications Union.
"Their
presence at the top reflects that region's traditional emphasis on equitable
access,
affinity
for technology and top-notch infrastructure," the ITU report said.
South
Korea, world leader in high-speed "broadband" access, came in fourth.
South Koreans
are
heavy users of the Internet for games, chatting and other purposes.
Filling
out the top 10 in order were the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Finland, Taiwan and
Canada.
The
United States was 11th, held back in part by its underdeveloped mobile phone
system,
said
Michael Minges, author of the report. The U.S. government also has done little
to
encourage
competition among service providers, so prices remain relatively high compared
with
Asia, where government-encouraged competition is strong, he added.
The
study measured 178 countries on a range of criteria, including the number of
telephone
lines
and mobile phones per inhabitant, the cost of going online, national literacy,
the speed
of
connections available and the percentage of inhabitants who are Internet users.
The
study compared the top 40 countries in 2002 with separate data it collected
that showed
the
situation in 1998 to see how much change there had been.
"Over
the past four years there's been a big shift," said Minges. "It's
really moving toward
Asia
and away from the English-speaking nations."
South
Korea has been rising fastest, up 20 places between 1998 and 2002. Taiwan rose
13
places during the same period, Hong Kong six, Singapore five and Japan four.
"They're
all Asian," said Minges. "In none of these countries is English the
mother tongue.
Yet
they've done exceedingly well. And look at the countries that have dropped the
most.
They're
all Anglophone countries."
Britain
dropped three places during the period, Canada and the United States each went
down
five,
Australia was down eight and New Zealand nine.
"This
is completely contrary to everything that we've heard, that English is an
advantage,
if
you don't speak English you're behind," Minges said.
At
the other end of the scale, most of the countries at the bottom of the list are
among the
least-developed
African nations.
"In
those countries it is going to be very difficult to do anything," said
Minges.
"There's
hardly any infrastructure. Levels of literacy and school enrolment are very
low.
And
affordability is just sky high."
The index was prepared for leaders meeting
next month in Geneva to discuss the possibility
of making Internet access available to
everyone on the planet.
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