The 2013 Survey of Information and Communication Technology (SICT) was conducted in 2014 primarily to collect and generate information on the access and utilization of ICT among establishments in the country for reference year 2013. The SICT adopted the Information Economy (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..

This Special Release presents the final results of the 2013 SICT for the core ICT indicators of the Information Economy (IE). Table 1 shows a comparison of the percentages of the core ICT indicators by industry classified as IE for reference years 2010 and 2013. The regional breakdown for the same indicators and reference years is presented in Table 2.

Survey results showed that there were 4,251 establishments classified as IE in 2013, an increase of 78.7 percent from 2,379 in 2010.

Almost ninety-nine percent of establishments use computer and other hardware; ninety-six percent report internet access

About 98.8 percent of the 4,251 IE establishments covered in the 2013 SICT used computer and other hardware in their business operations. This percentage was more than the 97.5 percent reported in 2010. All establishments under content and media sector reported 100 percent computer and other hardware usage. This is slightly higher compared to the 98.5 percent reported by the ICT sector.

All of the establishments under the following industries used computers and other hardware, these establishments are those engaged in:

• ICT manufacturing industries
• Software publishing
• Telecommunications services
• Computer programming, consultancy and related activities
• Data processing, hosting and related activities; web portals.

On the other hand, those engaged in repair of computers and communication equipment had the lowest percentage at 87.2 percent.

At the regional level for the same indicator, MIMAROPA, and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) recorded the highest, with 100 percent. Caraga Region and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) had the lowest at 96.4 and 93.6 percent, respectively.

Establishments with internet access grew to 96.3 percent compared to 92.1 percent reported in 2010. The ICT sector (96.3%) had a slightly higher internet access compared to the content and media sector (96.2%). Software publishing registered 100 percent internet access for the two reference periods. Moreover, the following industries recorded 100 percent internet access in 2013:

• ICT manufacturing industries
• Computer programming, consultancy and related activities
• Data processing, hosting, and related activities: webportals

Furthermore, repair of computers and communication equipment reported the lowest internet access at 82.5 percent.

Among regions, internet access was present among 98.4 percent of establishments in Northern Mindanao, the region with the highest percentage of internet access while the lowest percentage was in MIMAROPA with 75.0 percent. Figure 1 shows the percentage of establishments with computer and internet access by industry.

About forty-seven percent of employees use computer routinely at work; thirty-eight percent routinely use computer with internet connection at work

Of the 371,520 IE employees, 46.6 percent used computer routinely at work in 2013. The percentage was lower than that in 2010 (48.5% of 303,882 employees). Those in the content and media sector (68.1%) had a higher percentage for this indicator compared to those in the ICT sector (44.6%).

Among IE industries, employees engaged in data processing, hosting and related activities; web portals had the highest percentage at 94.1 percent while those in ICT manufacturing industries had the lowest at 20.2 percent. At the national level, 38.2 percent of employees used computer with internet connection routinely at work, which is higher by 6.9 percentage points compared to the 2010 percentage of 31.3 percent. Employees in the content and media sector (59.0%) registered a higher percentage than those in the ICT sector (36.2%). Software publishing (92.6%) had the highest percentage of employees routinely using computer with internet access at work while employees of ICT manufacturing industries had the least percentage at 10.2 percent.

By region, CAR (85.6%) reported the highest percentage of employees routinely using computer at work while those in CALABARZON (20.6%) recorded the lowest. CAR (83.4%) and CALABARZON (9.3%) were also the regions with the highest and lowest percentage of employees using computers with internet access routinely at work.

More than one-fourth of establishments maintain website

Presence of a website was reported by 26.0 percent of establishments in 2013. The percentage went down from 38.7 percent in 2010. The content and media sector (26.6%) had a higher percentage with website than those in the ICT sector (25.9%). Among IE industries, software publishing (64.7%) had the highest percentage with website, while repair of computers and communication equipment (6.8%) had the lowest.

Almost half (44.9%) of the National Capital Region (NCR)-based establishments maintained website, the highest among regions, while there is no maintained website reported in Eastern Visayas.

Eleven percent of establishments utilize the Internet for business

E-commerce is the process of buying or selling of goods and services through Internet protocol-based network. In 2013, E-commerce via the internet suffered a decrease reporting 11.1 percent which is 7.2 percentage points lower than the 18.3 percent reported in 2010.

The ICT sector (12.8%) had a higher percentage of establishments engaged in e-commerce via internet than those in the content and media sector (3.9%). ICT trade industries (33.5%) registered the highest percentage for this indicator and were followed by ICT manufacturing industries (32.1%). On the other hand, the lowest was recorded by programming and broadcasting activities at 2.3 percent.

Among regions, the highest utilization rate of 14.7 percent was recorded by the NCR-based establishments. In contrary, non-utilization was reported in both MIMAROPA and ARMM.

E-commerce can also be undertaken through computer networks other than the internet, in which only 3.4 percent of all the establishments reported having used the medium. In 2010, the percentage stood at 7.4 percent. The ICT sector exhibited higher percentage (3.9 %) compared to the content and media sector (1.4 %). Figure 2 shows the percentage of establishments with e-commerce via internet and other computer networks.

Nearly 16 percent of establishments do business through mobile phone

Cellular mobile phone is another medium that can be used in doing business. Of the total establishments, 15.4 percent used mobile phones in business transactions in 2013. This was lower than the 16.1 percentage reported in 2010.

The ICT sector surpassed the IE percentage at 15.9 percent while the content and media sector reported 13.3 percent. Repair of computers and communication equipment had 32.1 percent, the highest, engaged in this kind of transaction while software publishing reported no transaction using mobile phones.

ARMM (33.3%) reported the highest business transaction via cellular mobile phone and the lowest was in Eastern Visayas at 2.2 percent.

Internet used extensively in obtaining information from government organizations

Establishments also used the internet in obtaining information from government agencies as more government agencies maintained websites and more establishments have internet access in 2013. About 80.1 percent of the establishments used internet to obtain information from government organizations in 2013. It grew by than 10.7 percentage points compared to 70.0 percent reported in 2010. The content and media sector recorded a higher percentage than the IE at 85.0 percent while the ICT sector reflects a similar percentage of 79.7 percent, respectively. Computer programming, consultancy and related activities recorded the highest percentage of establishments performing the activity at 87.9 percent.

Downloading or requesting government forms was reported by 72.8 percent of establishments with internet access. The content and media sector at 75.1 percent was higher than those of the ICT sector with 72.3 percent. ICT manufacturing industries had the highest percentage among IE industries at 92.6 percent. This was followed by computer programming, consultancy and related activities (85.7%); and by data processing, hosting and related activities; web portals (85.6%).

Completing and sending forms on-line was the third activity mostly done by establishments with internet access as 53.1 percent of the establishments reported this activity. ICT manufacturing industries with 71.6 percent, remained on top among industries of the IE.

Making on-line payments to government organizations was the least among the transactions done by the establishments with government organizations via the internet. About 35.1 percent of establishments reported this type of activity. More than half of the establishments (54.7%) in ICT manufacturing industries with internet access reported this type of activity, the highest among IE industries. Figure 3 shows the percentage of the establishments which use internet for transacting with government agencies.

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

Sharing or distribution of information within the establishment (61.8%) and obtaining information from other organizations (51.5%) were the activities done mostly by establishments when transacting via the internet. Other activities consist of sharing or distribution of information with other organization (43.4%), internal or external recruitment (39.2%), finance accounting and auditing (31.2%), and staff training (29.0%).

TECHNICAL NOTES

Background

The 2013 SICT is the fifth in the series conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) now, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). It is as a rider to the 2013 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) conducted in September 2014.

Objective of the Survey

The 2013 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

Frame of Establishments

The frame for the 2013 SICT was extracted from the 2013 List of Establishments (LE). This frame was used to draw the sample establishments for the survey.

Unit of Enumeration

The unit of enumeration of the survey is the establishment. Establishment is an economic unit under a single ownership or control, i.e., under a single legal entity, engaged in one or predominantly one kind of activity at a single fixed location.

Scope and Coverage

The 2013 Survey on Information and Communication Technology (SICT) of Philippine Business and Industry is undertaken nationwide and will cover all industries covered in the 2013 ASPBI. For the purposes of the survey, these industries will be classified as core ICT industries and non-core ICT Industries. Core ICT industries are industries comprising the Information Economy (IE).

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

   a. 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

    b. 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 2013 SICT utilized the stratified systematic sampling design with five-digit PSIC serving as industry strata (industry domain) and the employment size (Total Employment, TE) as the second stratification variable.

Establishments engaged in the core ICT industries will be completely enumerated (100%), regardless of employment size. The establishments classified in the non-core ICT industries and with total employment of 20 and over shall be covered on a 10 percent sampling basis. For each of the non-core ICT industry, the sample size for establishments with TE of 20 and over was determined by applying the specified sampling rates for each of the industry domain at the national level. The minimum sample size is set to 3 establishments and maximum of 100 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 10,986 samples were selected for the survey.

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 2013 SICT refers to calendar year 2013 except for employment which is as of 15 November 2013.

Response Rate

The overall response rate for the 2013 SICT is 87.04 percent (9,562 of the 10,986 sample establishments). This included receipts of "good" questionnaires, partially accomplished questionnaires, reports of closed, moved out or out of scope establishments. Sample establishments under core ICT industries reported 89.96 percent response rate ( 5,421 out of 6,026 establishments) while non-core ICT industries response rate is 83.48 percent (3,633 out of 4,352 sample establishments). On the other hand, industries classified in Business Process Management (BPM) have a response rate of 83.55 percent (508 out of 608 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 anytime, anywhere to anyone. 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.