Doha: Most developing countries still require improvements in their Information and Communications Technology policies and strategies and face several challenges including weak policy and implementation capacity, opposition from vested interests and persistent obstacles, a World Bank report on ICT entitled 'Global Trends and Policies', stated.

The report was launched on Thursday in Doha, at a press conference held on the sidelines of the ongoing World Telecommunications Development Conference. The report states that many developing countries also lack "adequate tools to monitor, evaluate and guide investments in ICT" and provide connectivity in under-served areas. The WB, through this report, hopes to contribute towards continuity in benchmarking ICT data, monitor and assess trends, themes and programs supporting ICT in developing countries. The report is expected to be published periodically.

The report points out that the divide in ICT access remains large in several countries and there exist several differences in the adoption of ICT applications. "In particular, developing countries still have far to go and make ICT commonplace in government, schools and businesses. Fast growth in large emerging markets- especially Brazil, China and India- masks slower development elsewhere. Although progress has been made reaching out to rural areas and urban poor, in many countries, these groups lag behind," the report notes, adding that advanced information and communication services available through the Internet initially reach only the financially well-off sections of the society.

The WB report calls upon the private sector in developing countries to take a lead role as an early adapter of ICT and benefit from it. "The potential benefits of ICT, for growth, investment, productivity and profitability provide a sound basis for promoting its use by businesses in developing countries. But they face obstacles to adopting and using ICT applications," it states. These hurdles are identified as slow, unreliable, insufficient and expensive telecommunication services. Corruption, it says, is part of the problem as several companies have to pay bribes for service licenses or telephone connections. Companies also have limited incentives to change business models and operating structures when the costs of ICT are significant and returns are uncertain.

Many small, domestically owned companies, the report further states, do not recognize the value of ICT strategies or applications for their activities and do not need ICT beyond a basic level of connectivity. Such companies also lack trust in online business and fear related legal impediments. They are also hampered by shortages of skilled ICT workers.