Phl up in networked readiness rankings

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has improved its ranking by eight notches among nations tapping information and communication technologies (ICT) in delivering economic and social benefits.

Based on the Networked Readiness Index 2014 of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the country’s ranking among 148 countries improved from 86th to 78th spot.

The report noted improvements in the Philippines’ scores in all the 10 networked readiness pillars: political and regulatory environment, business and innovation environment, infrastructure and digital content, affordability, skills, individual usage, business usage, government usage, economic impacts and social impacts.

“A significant improvement in the perceived efficiency in the country’s legal system and property rights protection drive the political and regulatory environment up to 87th place,” the report said.

The Philippines also showed significant improvement in ICT readiness, with “more affordable (75th) access to ICT infrastructure and better skills (69th), despite the need for higher quality in the educational system.”

However, the Philippines still lagged behind other neighbors in Southeast Asia such as Singapore (2nd), Malaysia (30th), Brunei Darussalam (45th), Indonesia (64th), and Thailand (67th), in the index.

The Philippines ranked ahead of Vietnam (84th), Cambodia (108th), Lao PDR (109th) and Myanmar (146th).

Finland ranked 1st in the Networked Readiness Index, followed by Singapore, Sweden (3rd), Netherlands (4th), Norway (5th), Switzerland (6th), United States (7th), Hong Kong (8th), United Kingdom (9th) and South Korea (10th).

But one of the key findings of the report is that countries cannot only rely on ICT infrastructure development to become competitive.

The report showed the benefits of ICT can only be fully realized when a country implements a holistic strategy aimed at creating conditions for skills, innovation and entrepreneurship to flourish alongside modern infrastructure.