OECD to Release Digital Economy Outlook 2015

Newspaper Title: http://www.mcit.gov.eg/

Newspaper Number:

Tuesday - 14 July 2015

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is releasing the Digital Economy Outlook 2015 report on July 15, prepared by the OECD Secretariat under the guidance of the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP). OECD centers on encouraging countries to maximize the potential of the digital economy for productivity, innovation, growth and jobs.

The OECD Digital Economy Outlook examines and documents evolutions and emerging opportunities and challenges in the digital economy. It highlights how OECD countries and partner economies are taking advantage of ICTs and the Internet to meet their public policy objectives. 

Egypt ICT strategy for 2014-2020 is outlined in the Digital Economy Outlook 2015. Entitled “Achieve the digital economy through ICT, to provide prosperity, freedom and social equity for all”, the strategy involves multi-stakeholder input from NGOs, academia and multinational corporations, whose cooperation is central to implementing a series of strategic business plans with a focus on citizen participation and empowerment.

The three main strategic objectives are transforming Egypt into a digital society, developing the ICT Industry and establishing Egypt as a global digital hub.

Key messages of the Digital Economy Outlook 2015 include digital economy as a priority for governments—working in multiple policy areas –where countries acknowledge its significance to boost competitiveness, economic growth and social well-being. A number of 27 out of 34 countries, surveyed by the OECD, have national digital strategies. 

The ICT sector gaining traction with a positive outlook is another key message. It is important to mention that while employment in the ICT sector remained stable, employment across all sectors of the economy has climbed in most OECD countries.

Another key message highlights the faster and cheaper communication in terms of fibre being increasingly deployed (fibre increased its share of total fixed broadband subscriptions to 16.5% in June 2014), consumers getting more for their money—as fixed broadband prices per Mbps significantly decreased between 2012 and 2014—and mobile getting more affordable as mobile broadband baskets for smartphones declined down to 52% compared to 2012.

An additional message shed light on the fact that the industry is being impacted by convergence and consolidation as services, including TV and video, are now carried over IP networks blurring boundaries between traditional telecom and broadcasting. Consequently, a number of countries have introduced legislation to prohibit blocking and discrimination of services (net neutrality).

Moreover, another message reveals that companies are online as figures state that by 2014 almost all businesses relied on ICTs in terms of broadband, web presence, online interaction with public authorities and cloud computing usage.
Additional key message signifies that building trust is critical to the growth of the digital economy.

Users have become increasingly concerned about privacy and security risks in digital products and services, and data security breaches continue to be a significant problem. Security and privacy, therefore, have become top priorities for governments, being ranked second and third respectively.

Driving a new generation of cyber-strategies and the need for privacy and security professionals are essential. There is also a pressing need for national strategic approaches to privacy, incorporating a whole-of-society perspective with the flexibility to capitalize on technological developments (e.g. data analytics and the Internet of Things).

Transformative changes are definitely on the way in terms of data analytics and the Internet of Things; there is an estimate of 14 billion connected devices in OECD households by 2022.

Assessing how countries can maximize the potential of the digital economy as a driver for innovation and inclusive growth, the report’s chapters include an overview of the current status and outlook of the digital economy; the main trends in the ICT sector, and developments in communication and regulation policy; and overviews of ICT demand and adoption, plus the effects of the digital economy on growth and development.