They strongly urge the international community to explicitly prioritize information and communication technologies (ICTs) because they are essential for the future social development and economic growth of all countries.

The three-day symposium, which began today, is the world's largest gathering of ICT data experts. More than 300 delegates are participating, ranging from government ministers and business leaders to regulators and ICT data analysts.

The SMIT, organized annually by the ITU, the United Nations specialized agency for ICTs, studies approaches to data compilation and processing and strives to harmonize globally the methods of measuring key statistical "indicators" that help governments, businesses, United Nations agencies and other international organizations to measure progress and determine development strategies.

This year's event is organized in partnership with the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), Mexico's telecommunications and broadcasting regulator. "In this era of profound transformations in Mexico's ICT sector, accurate statistical information is essential. Reliable data on access and affordability are the cornerstone of concrete plans to revitalize the sector, which is why Mexico is particularly proud to host this important event at such an opportune time," stated Gabriel Contreras Saldívar, President of the IFT.

During the first day there were three high-level discussions focused on key priorities for ICT data and analytics in the period leading up to the WSIS+10 review process and the post-2015 global development agenda.

The first to speak were Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, Secretary of Communications and Transport of Mexico, José Antonio Meade Kuribreña, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabriel Contreras Saldívar, President of the IFT, Dr. Hamadoun I Touré, Secretary General of the ITU, and Dr. Sam Pitroda, special advisor to the Prime Minister of India on ICT matters. 

Also participating in the high-level component of the meeting were prominent figures from the telecommunications sector such as Carlos Slim Helú, high-ranking legislators such as Alejandra Lagunes, coordinator of the national digital strategy of the Mexican presidential cabinet, expert analysts from the United Nations system such as Professor Jeffrey Sachs, special advisor to the UN Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals, Robert Kirkpatrick, Director of UN Global Pulse, statistical experts such as Eduardo Sojo Garza Aldape, President of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico, great advocates of global development, such as Brahima Sanou, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the ITU, and many others.

A special visit led by the Mexican government was also organized to underserved communities in Mexico City, in order to highlight the human face of access to ICTs.

The ITU took the lead in calling for greater recognition of the transformative capabilities of technology and proposed a new United Nations development goal aimed at ensuring that all countries achieve a minimum level of access to and use of ICTs at affordable prices to help businesses and boost growth.

Many now believe, in hindsight, that the catalytic role of ICTs was not sufficiently recognized when the MDGs were defined in 2000. At that time, mobile cellular penetration was only 12.1%; today it is 96%. In that same period, the percentage of the world's population online has increased from 6.5% to almost 40%.

The need to connect to ICTs was incorporated into the MDGs as a subsidiary "target" of Goal 8*. Now, the global technology and development community is advocating for greater recognition of the vital importance of ICTs for socioeconomic growth.

The ITU compiles ICT statistics in 200 economies and over 100 indicators, in partnership with the administrations of its 193 Member States, over 700 members of the private sector and over 60 members of academic institutions and the research and development community.

In addition to publishing the world's most comprehensive ICT database, it produces the benchmark report on ICT sector statistics, Measuring the Information Society, which contains a unique global ranking called the ICT Development Index (IDI).

The IDI combines 11 statistical indicators into a single measurement that can be used as a reference instrument to measure access, use and knowledge of ICTs, and includes indicators such as mobile cellular subscriptions, households with computers, Internet users, fixed and mobile broadband Internet subscriptions, and basic literacy rates.

A rapidly evolving global ICT landscape

The figures recently published by the ITU in its Measuring the Information Society 2013 report show a buoyant global demand for ICT products and services, a steady decline in the prices of cellular and broadband services, and unprecedented growth in the adoption of 3G technology.

By the end of 2013 there will be a total of 6.8 billion mobile phone subscriptions, and it is estimated that 2.7 billion people will use the Internet, although with very different speeds and prices.

ITU figures also show that mobile broadband connections via 3G and 3G+ networks are growing at an average annual rate of 40%, which translates to 2.1 billion mobile broadband subscriptions worldwide and a global penetration rate of almost 30% by the end of 2013. Nearly 50% of the world's population already has 3G network coverage.

However, it is estimated that 1.1 billion households worldwide, or almost 60%, are still not connected to the Internet, and that 90% of those households are in developing countries.

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