Bermuda’s residents are becoming more knowledgeable about technology and interested in learning more about new developments, according to Government’s latest report on the state of information communications technology (ICT) in Bermuda released yesterday.

The third and final benchmark survey, which was commissioned by the Department of E-Commerce and conducted by Research.bm to assess the prevalence of ICT on the Island on an annual basis, focused on progress in the sector, shortcomings and new trends.

The 2009 study, which was presented by Michael Scott, Energy, Telecommunications and E-Commerce Minister at a press conference, surveyed a sample of 401 households of 18 or older and 204 business people to gauge usage in the residential and corporate sectors.

Mr. Scott said the information gathered would be used in a number of areas, including law enforcement and to help Government formulate its policy to enable the better delivery of financial products and services by businesses across the world, as well as educational aids to meet schools’ curriculums.

“Given the rapidly changing nature of technology and its potential impact and implications, either positive or negative, quantitative data needs to be gathered and assess regularly,” he said.

“In addition to providing valuable information for government purposes, the data is of great benefit in other ways, such as in supporting marketing efforts to attract foreign investment. Investment decisions are based on the complete package of positive attributes that a jurisdiction has to offer.

“In this challenging economic climate, a jurisdiction that has a robust telecommunications infrastructure with high bandwidth available to facilitate global communications and applications such as video conferencing, a sophisticated ICT industry and a technologically literate workforce and population, in other words, a very ‘e-ready’ domicile, is a significant attribute.”

The Economist Magazine’s Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2009 ‘Global E-Readiness Rankings’ survey ranked Bermuda as one of the top 21 e-ready countries in the world, and in the top 10 overall for business environment and connectivity, based on information supplied from the 2008 independent survey.

Among the key findings of the ‘State Of ICT In Bermuda’ report were that 90 percent of homes own a computer and 85 percent of those with Internet access have a high speed connection.

The survey also revealed that 94 percent of households possess a cell phone - in line with 2008, and 78 percent of business had a company website.

On a residential basis, access to the Internet via cable increased from seven percent in 2008 to 17 percent in 2009, and consistent with the 2008 survey, residents spent approximately 11 hours per week using a computer at home, with 74 percent using the Internet during half of that time versus 59 percent in 2008.

The most regularly used computer activities included emailing, using Internet search engines, using the Internet to look for travel information, researching products or services on the Internet, overseas online shopping, searching the Internet for information on a hobby or interest, using the Internet to get news and online banking.

Residents were also more likely to agree that in order to be successful it was important to have a strong knowledge of technology and to compete in a global economy the Island must continue to meet or exceed global technology standards.

Consistent with the 2008 results, those 65 years and older and less affluent residents were less likely to be knowledgeable about technology products and issues.

In the business arena, of the 78 percent of companies with a website, 56 percent used .bm, and 40 percent .com addresses, while almost one-quarter offered an online payment facility

It also found that businesses continued to report that they use technology for business to business (93 percent), business to consumer (78 percent), internal systems (89 percent), as well as business to government (71 percent) purposes.

Meanwhile, in 2009, 81 percent of companies had a common server, 99 percent of whom made it a secure server. Furthermore, 74 percent of companies with a common server had remote access, with 45 percent accessing via Virtual Private Network and 45 percent by secure access over the Internet.

In terms of cell phone and mobile device usage, the report revealed that 94 percent of households owned a cell phone - the same as in 2008 - but a larger proportion possessed mobile devices at a rate of 55 percent in 2009 compared to 32 percent the previous year.

There was also a 22 point increase in the proportion of residents who said they would buy a mobile device in the next six months from 12 percent two years ago to 34 percent last year.

Usage of email on mobile devices was 47 percent, while social networking usage was 21 percent, games (19 percent), GPS software (13 percent), downloading movies (10 percent), purchasing goods (eight percent), downloading podcasts (six percent) and bill payment (five percent).

Overall, three-quarters of residents said they communicated via text messaging, the survey found. More than half text daily, multiple daily usage was higher than average among younger resident and 68 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds texted daily, as do 45 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds.