Information and communication technology has expanded significantly in Asia and the Pacific over the last decade.

The Asian and Pacific region experienced the fastest growth in the number of fixed telephone lines in the world, from 6 per 100 population in 1995 to 16 in 2006. The region has roughly the same per capita number of fixed telephone lines as Latin America and the Caribbean, but only a third of that of Europe.

Figure 17.1 Fixed telephone lines per 100 population for major world regions, index of change, 1994-2006

High-income economies have twice as many fixed telephones lines per capita as middle-income economies, and over 11 times the number in low-income economies. The per capita number of fixed telephone lines, however, is decreasing in high-income and developed countries/areas. In Hong Kong, China, for example, this number went down from 59 in 2000 to 54 in 2006; in Australia, it fell from 53 to 49 during the same period. Japan experienced the largest decline, from 50 lines in 2000 to 43 by 2006. This trend can be explained by the explosion in the use of mobile phones since 2000, when just over half (54 per cent) of all people in high-income countries/areas in the region used a mobile phone. By 2006, that number had gone up to 85 per cent.

Figure 17.2 Fixed telephone lines per 100 population in Asia and the Pacific, 2001 and 2006

In the poorer parts of Asia and the Pacific, the rapid development of mobile phone networks seems to have stifled the expansion of fixed-line systems. In low-income countries and SAARC member countries - groups which, for a considerable part, overlap - the number of fixed telephone lines per 100 people was just 4.0 and 3.3, respectively, in 2006, in both cases lower than the year before. In least developed countries, the number did not even reach 1 in 2006. At the same time, with mobile phone use as a share of total phone use reaching 77, 75 and 80 per cent, respectively, in low-income countries, SAARC member countries and least developed countries, nowhere else in Asia and the Pacific is the share higher.

Figure 17.3 Mobile phone subscribers in selected Asian and Pacific country/area groupings, 1999-2006

In Cambodia, for example, 97 per cent of all phones are mobile (from 2006 data). The ease of adding mobile phone subscribers compared with wired subscribers has pushed the share of mobile phones to over 90 per cent in Afghanistan and Bangladesh, as shown in figure 17.5.

Three economies in the region have more than one mobile cellular telephone per person. Macao, China, had 137 mobile subscriptions per 100 population in 2006, while Hong Kong, China, had 131 and Singapore 109. Maldives along with the Russian Federation, Thailand and Macao, China, registered the most notable increases in the absolute number of mobile subscribers.

The increase in fixed lines concurrent with improvements in wireless technology has contributed to wider use of the Internet. Between 1999 and 2006, the number of Internet users in Asia and the Pacific increased five-fold, from 2 to 12 per 100 inhabitants, but this is still below the world average of 17 and far below the 69 in North America and 43 in Europe.

Figure 17.4 Mobile phone subscribers per 100 population in Asia and the Pacific, 2001 and 2006

Income and access as well as use of the Internet are highly interlinked. In high-income economies in the region, there are, on average, 68 Internet users per 100 inhabitants, compared with 11 in middle-income economies and about 5 in low-income economies.

Figure 17.5 Countries with an over 80 per cent mobile phone share of total phone lines, 2006

Among the developing countries, Small island developing States have high Internet penetration, 15 per 100 population, compared with 10 in ASEAN member countries and 5 in SAARC member countries. In Guam, there are 39 Internet users per 100 inhabitants, while New Caledonia has about 33.

Figure 17.6 Growth in number of Internet users in selected country/area groupings, 1999-2006

The number of Internet users has risen most rapidly in Central Asia, from almost none in 1995 to 6.3 in 2006. SAARC members and low-income economies have also made progress, although their starting levels in 1999 were quite low. Despite some growth in the number of Internet users in least developed countries, they still have not attained a level of at least 1 user per 100 inhabitants.

The increase in the number of Internet users has translated into additional demand for broadband connections. The number subscribers in the region is similar to that of Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2006, there were 3 broadband subscribers per 100 people in Asia and the Pacific, compared with 20 in North America and 16 in Europe.

Figure 17.7 Number of broadband users in selected country/area groupings, 2004 and 2006

The Republic of Korea, with 29 subscribers per 100 population, leads the region and ranks as the fifth country with the highest number of subscribers to broadband in the world, behind Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland and Switzerland. Hong Kong, China, also has a high number of subscribers, at 25, while Australia, Japan and Macao, China, have 20 broadband subscribers per 100 population. The number of broadband subscribers in the rest of the Asian and the Pacific region is still low, with the exception of Singapore, which has 18 subscribers per 100 inhabitants, and New Zealand, which has 14.

Figure 17.8 Internet users per 100 population in Asia and the Pacific, 2001 and 2006