6 Comments

1. 

   Sriganesh Lokanathan

   March 15, 2006, 12:12 pm

   http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/ICT+Indicators+For+South+Asia.aspx

2. 

   H.M.A.W. Herath

   March 19, 2006, 10:36 pm

   After coming back from Delhi workshop I discussed with my Director General (Dept. of census and Statistics) what we did in the work shop. I explained him purpose of the workshop and the next step. We are planning to conduct the (ITC Survey) Computer Literacy Survey on August 2006 with the help of ICTA. I am directly involved in all activities of this survey.(Selection of sample, Finalize the questionnaire ,Training field Staff, Supervision and data analyzing ) So I am going to include Core ICT indicators that you mention in the next step annex 2b page no.21 and 22 . (A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,A10,A11,A12, and HH 1:HH 10) Before finalize the Questionnaire I will send a copy to you for further modification.

   Thank you
   Herath (Sri Lanka)

3. 

   samarajiva

   March 20, 2006, 10:22 am

   Mr Herath’s comment is most encouraging. LIRNEasia will work to facilitate coordination between the Department and the relevant agencies such as ITU and OECD. National surveys have to be done by NSOs, not by organizations such as LIRNEasia, though we can contribute with ideas and through events such as the Delhi Meeting. We are most pleased that the Sri Lanka NSO is setting an example of what can be done.

4. 

   Chanuka

   March 22, 2006, 11:05 am

   Yes, I agree Mr Herath’s comment is most encouraging.

   Computer Literacy survey is an important activity conducted by the Department of Statistics, but the most important part is how the indicators are defined.

   For example, ‘literacy’ is often defined in the South Asian context as the ability to write ones own name. (against using the thumb impression as the signature) This does not necessarily makes us complacent. There are so many in our country who cannot even fill a simple form. Many times I have helped people to fill forms at government agencies and particularly at the Airport. As a county Sri Lanka might be high in the literacy levels, but our functional literacy levels are not that high.

   The same is true for IT literacy. There is no point of measuring IT literacy levels by the knowledge one has to put on and shut down a computer.

   At the very basic level IT literacy should be defined as the ability to do at least five key things: (a) Use a word processing package (b) Use a spread sheet package (c) Use a presentation/graphic package (d) Use Internet and e-mail (e) Basic computer usage like identifying the part of PC and the roles of each part, taking a printout, scan a document, copy a document, search for a document etc.

   The IT literacy survey can also check how many people know to use a mobile phone and how many know to send an SMS message. One possible reason why not many people use SMS is they do not know how to do it!

5. 

   goswami

   May 22, 2006, 4:02 pm

   This article underlines the importance of why it is necessary to have harmonized and accurate indicators for the telecom sector and the high stakes that are involved…

   From Telegepgraphy May 22, 2006

   Tata calls for investigation into overstating of subscriber stats

   Indian mobile operator Tata Teleservices has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to contract an ‘accredited third party’ to verify the subscriber bases of the country’s wireless operators, amid claims that companies are overstating their customer numbers in order to retain spectrum rights, Zee News reports. A new spectrum distribution policy was published in March, stating that future frequency allocations will depend on the size of an operator’s subscriber base in any given telecoms circle or a city in metro areas. The new rules mean that the more subscribers an operator has, the more spectrum it can apply for, subject to availability.

   The new policy has led to concerns that cellcos will illegally inflate subscriber numbers to obtain or retain spectrum. In a letter sent to DoT Secretary J S Sarma, Tata Tele claims that an executive at a rival operator has already admitted to overstating customer figures: ‘It may be recalled that during the course of discussions, one of the heads of a leading telecom company openly accepted the fact that verification of existing pre-paid subscribers will result in shortfall of up to 40% of the subscriber base’.

6. Pingback: Report on Workshop on ICT Indicators, New Delhi at LIRNEasia