Information and communications technology

Spending on information and communications technology in 2005

Information and communications technology or information and communication technology,^[1] usually abbreviated as ICT, is often used as an extended synonym for information technology (IT), but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications^[2] and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers, middleware as well as necessary software, storage- and audio-visual systems, which enable users to create, access, store, transmit, and manipulate information. In other words, ICT consists of IT as well as telecommunication, broadcast media, all types of audio and video processing and transmission and network based control and monitoring functions.^[3]

The expression was first used in 1997^[4] in a report by Dennis Stevenson to the UK government^[5] and promoted by the new National Curriculum documents for the UK in 2000.

The term ICT is now also used to refer to the merging (convergence) of audio-visual and telephone networks with computer networks through a single cabling or link system. There are large economic incentives (huge cost savings due to elimination of the telephone network) to merge the audio-visual, building management and telephone network with the computer network system using a single unified system of cabling, signal distribution and management. This in turn has spurred the growth of organizations with the term ICT in their names to indicate their specialization in the process of merging the different network systems.

Some of the dangers of ICTs include cyber-bullying, phishing as well as masquerading.

Trends and new concepts in the ICT roadway

ICT is often used in the context of "ICT roadmap" to indicate the path that an organization will take with their ICT needs^[6]. It is also used as an overarching term in many schools, universities and colleges stretching from Information Systems/Technology at the organisational end through to Software Engineering and Computer Systems Engineering at the other^[7].

Standards

Standards are very important for ICT, since they define the language that enables the technology to understand each other. This is especially relevant because the key idea behind ICT is that information storage devices can communicate in media-frictionless manner with communication networks and computing systems. Open standards play a special role, as well as standards organizations such as the Telecommunications Industry Association in the United States and ETSI in Europe.

Campaigns and Projects

Recently, many companies are coming up with campaigns to promote ICT and how it can be utilised to protect nature. Wipro was a leading company that organized Earthian, wherein students came up with ideas to use technology to benefit society.

UNESCO's Information for All Program (IFAP) provides a platform for discussion of and action on ethical, legal and societal consequences of ICT developments.

See Also

• Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative
• ICT Development Index
• Information Age
• Information and Communication Technologies for Development
• Information and Communication Technologies for Environmental Sustainability
• Market Information Systems
• Mobile Web

References

Further reading

• Caperna A., Integrating ICT into Sustainable Local Policies. ISBN13:9781615209293
• Carnoy, Martin. "ICT in Education: Possibilities and Challenges." Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 2005.
• "Good Practice in Information and Communication Technology for Education." Asian Development Bank, 2009.
• Grossman, G. and E. Helpman (2005), "Outsourcing in a global economy", Review of Economic Studies 72: 135-159.
• Oliver, Ron. "The Role of ICT in Higher Education for the 21st Century: ICT as a Change Agent for Education." University, Perth, Western Australia, 2002.
• Walter Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (London, UK: Routledge, 1988), in particular Chapter 4
• Measuring the Information Society: The ICT Development Index. International Telecommunication Union. 2009. pp. 108. ISBN 9261128319. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/idi/2009/material/IDI2009_w5.pdf. 

External links

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (March 2011)

• Information and Communication Technologies for Development and Poverty Reduction: The Potential of Telecommunications
• ICT in Education - UNESCO
• Web 2.0
• Information Technology and the Dream of Democratic Renewal
• The Roadmap for Open ICT Ecosystems: A Guide for Policymakers and Technologists
• Cloud network architecture and ICT - Unified communication(UC) technologies, integration of telecommunications, computers, middleware and the data systems that support, store and transmit UC communications between systems.