8179.0.55.002 - Discussion Paper: Consultation on topics emerging from submissions to the Information and Communication Technology Statistics Review, May 2015  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 04/05/2015  First Issue
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Contemporary ICT Information Requirements

The ICT Review has identified five key data characteristics as being of high utility, based on the submissions it received:

  1. Timeliness and frequency
  2. Granularity (geographical disaggregation, demographic disaggregation)
  3. Firm level information (with respect to privacy and legislative limitations)
  4. International comparability (to enable benchmarking at the international level), and
  5. Measurement of intensity and impact of ICT rather than incidence.

The Review process also highlighted a need to review and revise classifications to reflect the dynamic nature of innovation in ICT.

Specific information needs are given in the table below using a high level ICT supply and demand model. This representation is consistent with international models referenced under Definitions. At present the information needs given below are not organised by priority, however the ICT Review will be engaging stakeholders to determine priorities and account for any areas of omission. A more detailed breakdown is provided in the Appendix.


ICT Supply (producers and production)
  • Industries - constituting the ICT sector
  • Organisations - producing ICT goods and services and their characteristics (industry, size, age, ownership, location)
  • Production - what goods and services
  • Value - added to the supply chain
  • Imports/exports - quantity; cost; quality; quantity delivered electronically; financial performance (income, expenditure, wages and salaries, income, profit, value added, capital expenditure)
  • Productivity - contribution to the economy
  • Employment - number of people employed; occupations, qualifications, demographics, demand for skills; location of industry, customers and suppliers
  • Innovation - R&D and patent activity
  • Suppliers - digital services and their location
ICT demand (users and uses)
  • People who use ICT goods/services and internet/digital services (organisations (private, public), people (numbers and demographics)
  • Characteristics of ICT users (industry, size, socio-demographic and labour force characteristics, locations)
  • Uses of ICT - ICT goods/services; internet/digital services
  • Purpose and intensity of use - ICT goods/services and internet/digital services
  • Expenditure on ICT goods/services and internet/digital services - ICT expenditure and investment; for access; for good and services
  • Technologies used - means of Internet access, changes in technology
  • ICT security - security measures are in place, issues, impacts
  • E-commerce – quantity; frequency; purchases online; delivery of services online; value of transactions
  • Employment- use of ICT by those employed; ICT specialists and generalists; demand for skills; nature of work affected by ICT
  • Location - of users, customers, suppliers
  • Motivations and barriers to ICT use
  • Impacts of ICT use - on the entity, economy, society, environment
ICT infrastructure investment and services

On which the ICT industry, broader economy and society rely on
ICT in a wider context

Social and economic factors affecting ICT use and development (e.g. education and income levels)
Effect of domestic policy and regulatory environment on ICT infrastructure and use
Global factors and relationships
Influence of other factors on ICT impacts (e.g. skills and innovation)