This Special Release presents the core Information and Communication Technology (ICT) indicators of the Information Economy (IE) based from the preliminary results of the 2015 Survey on Information and Communication Technology (SICT). The 2015 SICT was conducted in 2016 primarily to collect and generate information on the access and utilization of ICT among establishments in the country for reference year 2015. The SICT adopted the IE as its framework. IE is comprised of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, and the Content and Media sector. For this Special Release, IE will refer to industries involved in producing and trading of ICT products, and those which primarily use ICT in providing products and services.

Almost all establishments own and use computer and other hardware, and have internet access

Nearly all (98.5%) of the 3,721 Information Economy (IE) establishments covered in the 2015 SICT used computer and other hardware in their business operations. Content and Media sector had the highest usage of 99.0 percent which was slightly higher than the 98.3 percent usage for the ICT sector.

All establishments under the following industries used computers and other hardware:

• ICT manufacturing industries

• Software publishing

• Data processing, hosting and related activities; web portals

• Publishing activities

On the other hand, establishments engaged in repair of computers and communication equipment had the lowest usage of 92.1 percent.

At the regional level for the same indicator, Cagayan Valley and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) recorded the highest, each with 100 percent. Ilocos Region and MIMAROPA Region had the lowest at 95.5 and 94.2 percent, respectively.

Establishments with internet access reached 96.7 percent from 96.3 percent reported in 2013. Content and Media sector (97.5%) had a higher internet access compared to the ICT sector (96.5%). ICT manufacturing industries and software publishing registered 100 percent internet access in 2015. However, repair of computers and communication equipment reported the lowest internet access at 86.8 percent.

Among regions, ARMM reported 100 percent internet access while the lowest percentage was recorded in MIMAROPA region with 84.6 percent. Figure 1 shows the percentage of establishments with computer and internet access by industry.

About 57.0 percent of employees use computer routinely at work; 49.0 percent routinely use computer with internet connection at work

Of the 310,812 IE employees, 56.9 percent used computer routinely at work in 2015. This percentage was higher by 10.3 percentage points than the 46.6 percent reported in 2013. Those in the Content and Media sector (74.2%) had a higher percentage for this indicator compared to those in the ICT sector (54.9%).

Among IE industries, employees engaged in software publishing had the highest percentage of 95.9 while those in ICT manufacturing industries had the lowest at 25.8 percent.

At the national level, 48.7 percent of employees used computer with internet connection routinely at work, higher by 10.5 percentage points compared to the 38.2 percent in 2013. Content and Media sector (69.1%) registered a higher percentage than those in the ICT sector (46.5%). Computer programming, consultancy and related activities (91.1%) had the highest percentage of employees routinely using computer with internet access at work while employees of ICT manufacturing industries had the least at 15.0 percent.

By region, Negros Island Region (NIR) (89.7%) reported the highest percentage of employees routinely using computer at work while those in CALABARZON (26.4%) recorded the lowest. NIR (88.3%) and CALABARZON (16.6%) were also the regions with the highest and lowest percentages of employees using computers with internet access routinely at work.

Almost 30 percent of establishments maintain website

Presence of a website was reported by 29.6 percent of establishments in 2015. This percentage grew by 3.6 percentage points compared to the 26.0 percent reported in 2013. The ICT sector (30.4%) had a higher percentage of website presence than those in the Content and Media sector (26.6%). Among IE industries, computer programming, consultancy and related activities (60.7%) had the highest percentage of establishments with website, while repair of computers and communication equipment (3.9%) had the lowest percentage.

By region, around four in every ten establishments or 45.4 percent had website in the National Capital Region (NCR), the highest among regions. Establishments in ARMM reported no website.

About 62.0 percent of establishments have wired Local Area Network (LAN)

Most IE establishments (61.9%) utilized wired LAN in 2015. This was higher by 14.5 percentage points than what was reported in 2013. Establishments from the ICT sector reported 62.9 percent with wired LAN while the content and media sector had only 58.2 percent. In addition, 42.2 percent of the establishments had wireless LAN and 16.9 percent had wide area network.

Regionwise, establishments from CALABARZON (72.7%) used wired LAN compared to other regions. On the other hand, less than half (48.6%) of the establishments from Bicol region reported the lowest utilization of wired LAN among regions.

Almost 14.0 percent of establishments utilize the internet for business

E-commerce is the process of buying or selling goods and services through internet protocol-based network. The proportion of establishments using internet for e-commerce in 2015 increased by 2.6 percentage points from 11.1 percent reported in 2013.

Content and Media sector (15.0%) had a higher percentage of establishments engaged in e-commerce via internet than those in the ICT sector (13.3%). Computer programming, consultancy and related activities (31.3%) registered the highest percentage for this indicator, followed by publishing activities (28.5%). On the other hand, the lowest percentage of establishments using e-commerce via internet was recorded by repair of computers and communication equipment at 2.0 percent.

Among regions, the highest e-commerce via internet utilization was recorded by the NCR-based establishments with 18.4 percent. In contrary, non-utilization was reported in ARMM. .

E-commerce can also be undertaken through computer network channels other than the internet. Only 1.4 percent of all the establishments reported having used the medium in which the ICT sector exhibited higher percentage (1.6%) than the Content and Media sector (0.6%).

Figure 2 shows the percentage of establishments with e-commerce via internet and other computer networks.

Nearly 18 percent of establishments do business through mobile phone

Cellular mobile phone is another medium that can be used for doing business. Of the total establishments, 17.6 percent used mobile phones in business transactions in 2015. Both ICT and Content and Media sectors reported 17.6 percent usage. Among industries, software publishing topped this kind of transaction with 22.2 percent. Meanwhile, motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities had the least at 9.6 percent.

Cagayan Valley (33.3%) reported the highest business transaction via cellular mobile phone while Eastern Visayas reported the lowest at 7.5 percent.

Internet used extensively in obtaining information from government organizations

About 84.0 percent of responding establishments used internet to obtain information from government organizations. It grew by 3.1 percentage points from the 80.7 percent reported in 2013. The Content and Media sector recorded a higher percentage of internet use in obtaining information from government organization (85.0%) than ICT sector with 83.4 percent. ICT manufacturing industries recorded the highest percentage of establishments performing the activity at 92.4 percent.

Around 77.0 percent of establishments used the internet for downloading or requesting government forms in which the ICT sector (78.3%) had higher usage than the Content and Media sector (71.2%). ICT manufacturing industries had the highest percentage among IE industries at 96.2 percent. This was followed by computer programming, consultancy and related activities (87.9%); and data processing, hosting and related activities; web portals (85.9%).

Completing or sending forms online was the third activity mostly done by establishments with internet access as 64.8 percent of the establishments reported doing this activity. ICT manufacturing industries with 90.8 percent remained on top among industries of the IE.

Making online payments to government organizations was the least among the transactions done by the establishments with internet in which 48.9 percent of establishments reported this type of activity. More than three-fourths of the establishments (76.1%) in ICT manufacturing industries with internet access reported this type of activity, which was the highest among IE industries.

Figure 3 shows the percentage of the establishments which used internet for transacting with government agencies.

Internet is used by establishments to share, distribute and obtain information for business operation

Sharing or distribution of information within the establishment (51.3%) and obtaining information from other organizations (47.7%) were the activities done mostly by establishments using the internet in their business operations. Other establishments used the internet for finance accounting and auditing which had the same percentage as the internal or external recruitment reporting of 40.7 percent. Next to these was sharing or distribution of information with other organizations at 39.6 percent. Staff training (31.7%) was the least activity done by establishments using internet.

TECHNICAL NOTES

Background

The 2015 Survey on Information and Communication Technology (SICT) is the sixth in the series of SICT conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). It is a rider to the 2015 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) conducted in 2016.

Objective of the Survey

The 2015 SICT aims to collect and generate information on the availability, distribution and access/utilization of ICT among establishments in the country.

Specifically, the survey aims to measure the following:  

• component of ICT resources and their utilization by establishments

• diffusion of ICT into establishments from various sources

• e-commerce transactions from data on e-commerce sales/revenue and purchases

• cellular mobile phone business transactions from data on sales/revenue

• estimate of the number of ICT workers in establishments

• methods of disposal of ICT equipment

Uses of the ICT Data

The results of the survey will be used in:  

• assessing the use of ICT resources by establishments and the available infrastructure

• determining how establishments use the internet, including the activities for which it is used

• determining web presence in establishments

• determining the revenue generated through e-commerce transactions, and through cellular mobile phones

• determining the methods of disposal of ICT equipment

Sampling Frame of Establishments

The sampling frame for the 2015 SICT, which was used to draw the sample establishments for the survey, was extracted from the 2015 List of Establishments (LE). Included in the sampling frame for SICT survey were those establishments confined to the formal sector. The formal sector comprised the following:  

1. Corporations and partnerships

2. Cooperatives and foundations

3. Single proprietorship with employment of 10 and over

4. Single proprietorship with branches

The initial estimate of the 2015 LE showed that there were 909,726 establishments in operation in the country for the year. Of the total establishments in the formal sector, 223,821 establishments (86%) comprised the sampling frame for the 2015 SICT.

Unit of Enumeration

The unit of enumeration of the survey is the establishment. Establishment is defined as an economic unit under a single ownership or control which engages in one or predominantly one kind of activity at a single fixed location.

Scope and Coverage

The 2015 SICT is undertaken nationwide and covers all industries in the 2015 ASPBI. For the purpose of the survey, these industries are classified as core ICT industries and non-core ICT Industries. Core ICT industries are industries comprising the Information Economy (IE). For this Special Release, only results from IE industries are presented.

The IE is composed further of the ICT Sector and Content and Media sector. The industries under each sector are as follows:

1. ICT Sector

   • ICT Manufacturing Industries

   • ICT Trade Industries

   • ICT Service Industries

     • Software publishing

     • Telecommunication services

     • Computer programming, consultancy and related services

     • Data processing, hosting and related activities; web portals

     • Repair of computers and communication equipment

2. Content and Media Sector

   • Publishing activities

   • Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities

The economic activities composing the core ICT industries in the Philippines are listed in Table 1.

Sampling Design

The 2015 SICT utilized a stratified systematic sampling design with five-digit PSIC serving as first stratification variable (industry strata/domain) and employment size (Total Employment, TE) as the second stratification variable (employment strata).

There are only two employment strata used for the survey: Stratum 1 - TE of 20 and over, and Stratum 2 - TE of less than 20. For non-core ICT industries, only establishments under the first stratum is covered, except those establishments classified as BPM industries under the administrative and support service activities sector, which are completely covered, regardless of employment size.

Sample size and selection

The Establishments engaged in the core ICT industries are completely enumerated (100%), regardless of employment size. The establishments classified in the non-core ICT industries and with total employment of 20 and over are covered on a 20 percent sampling basis for each of the industry domain at the national level. The minimum sample size is set to three establishments and maximum of 10 establishments per cell (industry domain).  However, when the total number of establishments (N) in the cell is less than the set minimum sample size, all establishments in that cell are taken as samples.

A total of 9,418 samples were selected for the survey.

Geographic Domain

For 2015 SICT, the geographic domains for the core ICT and BPM industries are the regions; while the non-core ICT industries is at the national level.

Indicators

Some indicators to be generated from the survey are as follows:

• proportion of establishments using computer

• proportion of employees using computers

• proportion of establishments with internet connection

• proportion of employees using the internet at work

• proportion of establishments with Web presence

• proportion of establishments with Intranet

• proportion of establishments placing and receiving orders over the internet

• proportion of establishments using the Internet by type of access and activity

• proportion of establishments with LAN and Extranet

Reference Period

All information collected in the 2015 SICT refers to calendar year 2015, except for employment which is as of 15 November 2015.

Response Rate

The overall response rate for the 2015 SICT for establishments under IE is 88.57 percent (4,286 of the 4,839 sample establishments). This included receipts of "good" questionnaires, partially accomplished questionnaires, reports of closed, moved out or out of scope establishments.

CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS

Information Economy (IE) is a term used to describe the economic and social value created through the ability to rapidly exchange information at any time, anywhere to any one. It is characterized by the intensive use by businesses of ICT for the collection, storage, processing and transmission of information. The use of ICT is supported by supply of ICT products from an ICT-producing sector and through trade.

IE is comprised of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Sector and the Content and Media Sector.

Industries under ICT Sector are industries which fulfill and/or enable, by electronic means, the processing, communication, transmission and display of information. It excludes the industries which create the information.

Industries under Content and Media Sector are those which produce goods and services primarily intended to inform, educate and/or entertain humans through mass communication media. These industries are engaged in the production, publishing and/or distribution of content (information, cultural and entertainment products), where content corresponds to an organized message intended for human beings.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as defined by the Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT) is "the totality of electronic means to collect, store, process and present information to end-users in support of their activities". It consists, among others, of computer systems, office systems and consumer electronics, as well as network information infrastructure, the components of which include the telephone system, the Internet, fax machines and computers.

ICT Resources are equipment, knowledge and human resources used to support electronic business/manufacturing processes and the conduct of electronic commerce transactions. It includes computer and peripheral equipment, systems and application software, network channels, telecommunication equipment, routers, satellite and other ICT hardware used in electronic business and commerce transactions, ICT support services and ICT workers.

Network channel is a collection of computers connected to each other that allows them to communicate with each other, and share resources and information. All networks are made up of basic hardware building blocks to interconnect network nodes, such as Network Interface Cards (NICs), Bridges, Hubs, Switches, and Routers.

Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that interchange data by packet switching using the standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP). It is a "network of networks" that consists of millions of private and public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, and other technologies. The Internet carries various information resources and services, such as electronic mail, online chat, file transfer and file sharing, online gaming, and the inter-linked hypertext documents and other resources of the World Wide Web (WWW).

Intranet is a set of networks, using the Internet Protocol and IP-based tools such as web browsers and file transfer applications, that is, under the control of a single administrative entity. That administrative entity closes the intranet to all but specific, authorized users. Most commonly, an intranet is the internal network of an organization.

Extranet is a network or internetwork that is limited in scope to a single organization or entity but which also has limited connections to the networks of one or more other usually, but not necessarily, trusted organizations or entities (e.g. a company's customers may be given access to some part of its intranet creating in this way an extranet, while at the same time the customers may not be considered 'trusted' from a security standpoint).

Wide Area Network (WAN) is a computer network that covers a broad area (i.e., any network whose communications links cross metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries. Less formally, a WAN is a network that uses routers and public communications links. The largest and most well-known example of a WAN is the Internet. A WAN is a data communications network that covers a relatively broad geographic area (i.e. one city to another and one country to another country) and that often uses transmission facilities provided by common carriers, such as telephone companies.

Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport. Current LANs are most likely to be based on Ethernet technology. Each workgroup can get to its local printer. Note that the printers are not accessible from outside their workgroup.

E-commerce or electronic commerce refers to the sale of goods and services where an order is placed by the buyer, price and terms of sale are negotiated over the Internet Protocol-based networks, an extranet, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) network, or other on-line system.

Web site is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or more web servers, usually accessible via the Internet. All publicly accessible websites are seen collectively as constituting the "World Wide Web". The pages of a website can usually be accessed from a common root URL called the homepage, and usually reside on the same physical server.