|
Economic Recovery and Global ICT Spending OutlookIn 2009, global spending on information and communication technology (ICT) is expected to contract 4% to $3,200 billion. As economies begin to recover globally, business and consumer spending on ICT products and services is expected to resume positive growth in 2010. Over the next four years, IHS Global Insight forecasts global ICT spending to grow at an annual rate of 6.5% compared with 7.5% average annual growth recorded during the 2004-08 period. Spending on communication equipment and IT will be strong in all regions of the world. Given that the recovery is expected to be fueled by investment, North America and Western Europe will see a rebound in equipment spending following the double-digit declines of 2009. Asia-Pacific and emerging markets in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East/Africa will see a flattening of growth in telecommunications-services spending from the strong double-digit advances recorded in recent years. Spending on telecommunications services will continue to grow at a slower rate across all the regions, despite the declines in wire-line voice spending, because of significant gains in mobile and broadband spending.
The mobile subscriber base in developing countries in Asia Pacific as well as in emerging markets will continue to grow rapidly for a few more years before reaching a plateau. Broadband is still at its infancy in many countries of the world because of poor infrastructure and low PC penetration. Recognizing the importance of ICT in speeding up the process of economic development, many governments around the world have prioritized the creation of advanced broadband and mobile infrastructure as part of their spending plans. As a result, in the years to come, the countries in Asia-Pacific and emerging markets are likely to see increased levels of broadband and mobile penetration rates. Businesses and governments will increasingly adopt information technology and deliver a variety of business-to-business and business-to-consumer services. In developing Asia-Pacific and emerging markets, spending on telecommunications services constitutes over half of total ICT spending and therefore is the largest component. In North America and Western Europe, telecommunications-services spending represents about 40% of total ICT spending, and the share is declining over time. IT expenditure is the largest component of ICT spending in North America and Western Europe, and the two regions accounted for over 70% of global IT spending in 2008. 
More Information: This article was produced using IHS Global Insight's Information and Communication Technology Database. For more information about this database, please contact our Technology Markets department: Mike Raimondi Executive Managing Dir./ IT Telecom mike.raimondi@ihsglobalinsight.com +1 781 301 9124 |
|
