People and Organization on-line (Stage 4)
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); Austria ranks 12th in worldwide telecommunication development.
Based on June, 2010 data, the population of Austria is 8,214,160 out of which 6, 143,600 are internet users.
So % of population penetration is 74.8%. The % for the whole Europe is 58.4%. The use of internet has grown 192.6% during the last 10 years (2000 - 2010) whereas this growth in the European community is 352.0%. Some 300 users are joining the Internet per day in Austria.
Early 1995, the number of users was estimated at 200,000. In 1997 the forecast is that 500,000 Austrians will use the Internet privately, and that there will be 200,000 commercial users. The high growth rates are no longer university-driven. Today most new users are from businesses, private households, and organizations. Even though infrastructure wise this is a mature country,
the computer literacy in Austria is still too low. Another inhibitor of IT growth is the users' lack of awareness of the opportunities that arise with sophisticated technology.
Hence, education in telecommunication and Information technology is of strategic importance because it provides a long-term stimulus for IT usage.
Another important source of IT stimulus would be an exchange of information between the public and private sectors. Hence, one of the goals of the "Austrian Telecom Initiative" is to provide the private sector with electronic access to databases and public information in order to increase the use of IT. In most cases, computer classes are still taught separately in middle schools and higher education. There has, however, been an increased effort in inspiring students to use computers. The Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the Austrian Computer Society, started computer-related competitions. The students voluntarily participate nationwide by handing a computer-related project. There has also been an effort to better integrate the computer in the classroom and to educate teachers to facilitate the process.
Locally Relevant Content (Stage 4)
Based on a recent s survey, 74% of persons aged 16 to 74 used the Internet on a daily basis. Besides communication and information search the Internet is popular for using e-Government services. HELP is a good example of it. This is an internet portal designed to guide citizens through administrative procedures, so as to be able to prepare and complete them quickly and without difficulties. HELP provides Austrian citizens and residents with a single point of entry to detailed information about public services and administrative procedures, organized around approximately 200 life events.
The important available resources are Corporate Network Austria (CNA), Citizen Card service, PEP online for eProcurement, Legal Information System of the Republic of Austria (RIS), Austrian Federal Computing Center (BRZ), Electronic File System (ELAK) etc. More than half of all persons (51%) had interacted with public authorities via the Internet during the twelve months prior to the time of the survey (e.g. for information search on public authorities’ websites, for downloading official forms or for sending filled in forms via the Internet). Most of the web content is in German language which is the native language in Austria. Most schools require students to take English courses, starting as early as primary education.
The level of sophistication and English language skills is, however, not as high as in Scandinavian countries or the Netherlands. This results from the dominance of the German language in the Austrian society. Particularly in technical education, the level of knowledge in English is poor, although it is more required than ever. Major usage of ICT is noticed in the government as well as in the health care industry. The government's Research and Development programs are designed towards improving the IT usage of content providers. The content industry in Austria has a rather weak representation but is one of the most important stimulus for IT usage. There is no internationally relevant media industry. The tourism and cultural sectors, however, could become a major content provider in the international arena.
Information and Communication Technologies in Everyday Life (Stage 4)
More and more Austrian households have access to the Internet at home. Based on World Bank published data, in 2009, the information and communication technology expenditure per capita is $2, 507.80 (USD). 73% of households were equipped with an Internet access in 2010. The Internet is increasingly accessed via broadband connections. The devices used for accessing the Internet have changed considerably in the last few years. In 2010 for the first time, portable computers were used more often for Internet access at home than desktop computers. While 85% of all households with Internet access used the World Wide Web via a desktop computer in 2005, the percentage decreased to 61% in 2010. In the same period of time, the usage of portable computers for Internet access changed contrarily: 27% of households accessing the Internet used portable computers for the Internet in 2005 while the percentage was up to 67% in 2010. Besides, the usage of Internet enabled mobile phones increased from 2% in 2005 to 21% in 2010. Internet shopping is increasing onwards.
43% of persons aged 16 to 74 indicated that they purchased goods or services over the Internet during the twelve months prior to the survey. The most popular product groups for Internet-shoppers were "books, e-books, magazines, newspapers and e-learning materials", as well as "clothing and sports articles", "holiday accommodation and other travel arrangements", "electronic equipment (including cameras)", "tickets for events", "household goods", "computer software", and "films and music". People are using more computers to access public information and services. These data are the results of a survey conducted by STATISTICS AUSTRIA for the ninth time. Approximately answers from 5 100 households with at least one household member aged 16 to 74 and approximately 7 500 persons aged 16 to 74 could be used for grossing up.
Internet Usage Table
Information and Communication Technologiew in the
Workfplace (Stage 4)
The usage of information and communication technologies (ICT) has become increasingly important for enterprises. In January 2010, 97% of Austrian enterprises with at least 10 persons employed used the Internet, 81% of the enterprises had a website. Having a website still depends on the size of an enterprise. Whereas nearly all large enterprises (250 and more persons employed) have a website, 92% of medium-sized enterprises (50 to 249 persons employed) and 78% of small enterprises (10 to 49 persons employed) presented their company or their products or services via a website. These are the results of a survey conducted by STATISTICS AUSTRIA for the tenth time. More than 3 400 enterprises with at least 10 persons employed took part in the survey.
More and more enterprises use high speed Internet connections for accessing the Internet. 82% of enterprises have already used broadband connections (DSL, other fixed broadband connections (e.g. cable, leased line), mobile broadband connections via portable computer using 3G modem as well as mobile broadband connections via 3G handset), while connections via an analogue modem or via ISDN are only used in one out of three enterprises.
Interacting with public authorities is also often done via the Internet (e-Government). 75% of enterprises were using e-Government in 2009 (e.g. for information search, obtaining forms, returning filled in forms or treating an administrative procedure completely electronically).
Sales via e-Commerce (via a website, e.g. online-shop or via EDI-type systems or other means of electronic data transmission, e.g. XML, EDI, excluding manually typed e-Mails) were done by 18% of all enterprises. 13% of Austrian enterprises sold products or services via a website. The turnover via a website amounted to 9.8 billion €. 8% of enterprises reached a turnover of 43.3 billions € via EDI-type systems or other means of electronic data transmission.
Enterprise Usage Table
