Report: U.S. lagging in communications tech usage

The United States has failed to keep up with the rest of the world in economically exploiting information and communications technology, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report, issued this week.

The U.S. dropped from first to fifth place, behind Singapore, Iceland, Finland and Denmark in the Network Readiness Index ranking, following three straight years at the number one slot. The Global Information Technology Report measures how 104 different economies put information and communications technology to use to create economic growth and better quality of living.

According to the WEF, the U.S. did not slow down its use of technology, but could not keep pace with the global leaders.

Singapore was rated first in “quality of math and science education, affordability of telephone connection charges, and government prioritization and procurement of ICT,” according to a statement from the WEF, and also scored high in affordability of Internet access. The U.S. maintained its leadership in quality of scientific research institutions and business schools, the availability of training opportunities for the work force, and in venture capital funding.

“It is clear that information and communication technologies will continue to play a growing role in boosting the efficiency of the increasingly integrated global economy, enabling countries to improve resource allocation and boost growth prospects” said report co-editor Augusto Lopez-Claros, director of the Global Competitiveness Program at the World Economic Forum, in a prepared statement. “Singapore is an excellent example of a country that has been able to make in a relatively short period of time enormous progress in putting ICT at the service of improved living standards. Together with a handful of other economies (Taiwan, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Korea, Estonia, among others), Singapore’s experience highlights the increasingly central role played by technology as an engine of growth and competitiveness, even beyond the borders of the rich industrial countries.”