ICT indicator

Slide 2.

Today’s penchant for watching videos online as one of the most popular Internet activities like watching the Netflix is translated by very strong growth in fixed- and mobile-broadband traffic in Asia-Pacific region. Moreover, as COVID-19 pandemic has been moving people’s daily life such as education, work, culture, the importance of Internet speed has increased.

However, in many of the developing countries, especially in LDCs, substantial pockets of the population are still suffering from slower broadband connections, as confirmed by the graph. The graph shows that the landlocked developing countries and least developed countries have a fixed broadband speed of less than 2.5 Mbit/s. To put it simply, up to 100 people can view a single page of an Internet blog at the same time. When more people connect, the Internet speed slow down. In other word, least developed countries show that lower-speed entry-level offers may be an effective way to ensure that fixed-broadband services are affordable for almost the entire population.

In COVID-19 pandemic, low Internet speeds make it difficult to access remote work, education, health care, etc. Today, when physical education is difficult, the digital divide further increases the gap in daily life. These differences could eventually adversely affect economic development. Because fixed-broadband speed depends on the technical ability of the line, it is essential to build network connection.

 

Slide 3.

The figures on the graph show that fixed broadband expenses account for the percentage of per capita gross national income over a month. A lower number means affordable use of fixed broadband, which means that the infrastructure for Internet connectivity is well established in the region. The subscriptions of North Center Asia, East North and East Asia, and South West and West Asia are able to access to the fixed broadband with very low price. And thanks to advances in technology, the Pacific and Pacific developing region has become extremely affordable from 2015 to 2019. However, Pacific developing countries still have high utilization prices, with their per capita gross national income equal to 24 percent. The lack of connectivity can also limit the progress of digital skills. People will not be able to access Internet connections easily with high price, which is the fundamental cause of the digital divide. The fundamental issue of affordability of access and infrastructure has to be addressed.

 

Slide 4.

The left graph shows the percentage of subscribers using fixed broadband at low or high prices within each group divided by income. In high-income groups, 100 percent of subscribers expense at less than 2 percent of monthly gross national income per capita for using fixed broadband, but all subscribers in low & lower middle income countries must use it at a high price more that 2 percent of their per capita gross national income. Also, the least developed countries, the price of fixed broadband is more than 2 percent of monthly gross national income per capita.

Groups with higher incomes could increase income more easily with affordable price, while people with lower incomes make it more difficult to generate income by use of the Internet.

This situation indicates that digital gaps can lead to income gaps. Lower purchasing power in the group, including low & lower middle-income countries and least developed countries, is a limiting factor for connectivity infrastructure. Concerted efforts to promote affordability can have real impact to the group. For example, in low – to middle income countries, breaking up a broadband monopoly can help users to save expenditures.

 

Slide 5.

Since 5G is at a crucial early stage and at the cusp of scaling across Asia Pacific, COVID-19 is clearly going to have an impact on deployments and uptake, affecting both supply and demand-side economics.

China seems to be past the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, factory closures and pressure on the domestic workforce across Asia Pacific will take their toll on planned rollouts. In India, for example, the Department of Telecommunications has delayed its 5G spectrum auction, meaning the earliest possible date for 5G rollout is likely to be 2021–22.

Despite extreme government countermeasures, it is inevitable that disposable income for both consumers and enterprises will fall. According to Ipsos, 56% and 40% of consumers in Japan and Australia respectively believe that the pandemic will have an impact on their personal finances. Consumers are not going to stop using mobile phones, but it may now be more difficult for operators to persuade people to spend more on services and devices to upgrade to 5G.

In South Korea, first-day sales of Samsung’s latest 5G-enabled Galaxy S20 devices (launched in February) were around half that of its previous S10 series.

Taking these factors into account, our revised forecasts show that the total number of 5G connections will be almost 20% lower in 2020 in Asia Pacific than previously expected. This is a larger reduction than the global average (-15%), mainly due to a downward revision of 22% in China, which has a significant regional impact given that the country accounts for almost 90% of the region’s 5G connections. The impact of COVID-19 on 5G growth will also be greater in Asia Pacific since the region is home to some of the first 5G networks, compared to other regions where many markets have yet to launch 5G.

 

Slide 6.

The ITU data indicates that in most countries worldwide, women are lagging behind men in the opportunity to take advantage of the power of digital technologies. Further, that gap has been growing in the all-region except developed countries. Only in the developed countries have the digital gender divide slowly been narrowing. More men than women use the Internet in every single region of the world.

While mobile phone ownership and mobile Internet use have increased significantly among women, there is still a persistent gender gap. Women’s lower levels of mobile ownership and use not only reflect existing gender inequalities, but also threaten to compound them. If the mobile gender gap is not addressed, women risk being left behind as societies and economies digitize.