This Special Release presents the preliminary results of the 2017 Survey on Information and Communication Technology (SICT) for the Information Economy (IE) or core Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industries. The SICT adopts the IE or Core ICT industries as its framework. IE refers to industries involved in producing and trading of ICT products, and those which primarily use ICT in providing products and services. IE is comprised of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector and the Content and Media sector.

All IE establishments in Ilocos Region owned and used computers and communication equipment.

A total of 86 establishments under the Information Economy (IE)  was estimated in 2017 in Ilocos Region. All these establishments (100.0%) owned and used computers and communication equipment  in their business operations. The record was higher by 4.5 percentage points than the proportion of ownership and usage in 2015 at 95.5 percent.  (see Table 1)

The proportion of IE establishments that owned and used computers and communication equipment in the country was recorded at 99.2 percent in 2017. It was higher by 0.7 percentage point than the proportion  of ownership and usage in 2015 at 98.5 percent.

At the regional level, all IE establishments in the following regions in 2017, including Ilocos Region, owned and used computers and communication equipment: Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR); Cagayan Valley;

MIMAROPA Region; Bicol Region; Western Visayas; Eastern Visayas; Zamboanga Peninsula; Northern Mindanao; Davao Region; Caraga;  and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The lowest proportion of IE establishments that owned and used computers  and communication equipment was recorded by Central Luzon  with 93.9 percent.

Proportion of IE establishments with internet in the Ilocos Region increased

Of the total IE establishments in Ilocos Region, 98.8 percent had internet access in 2017. This proportion posted an increase of 6.9 percentage points, from 91.9 percent of IE establishments with internet access  in 2015.  

Similarly, the country posted an increase in IE establishments with internet access from 96.7 percent in 2015  to 97.2 percent in 2017 (Table 1).

Among the regions, CAR registered the highest proportion of IE establishments with Internet connection at 100.0 percent in 2017.  It was followed by Ilocos Region at 98.8 percent. The lowest proportion  of IE establishments with internet access was recorded by ARMM  at 83.3 percent.

Proportion of IE establishments with website in Ilocos Region continued to expand

In 2017, 29.1 percent of IE establishments in Ilocos Region had a website. It was higher by 22.8 percentage points than the 6.3 percent recorded in 2015. 

The proportion of the country’s total IE establishments with website  also increased by 15.4 percentage points from 29.5 percent in 2015  to 44.9 percent in 2017 (Table 1).

E-commerce transactions via internet in Ilocos Region went up  by 3.0 percentage points

The proportion of IE establishments Ilocos Region engaged in ecommerce transaction via the internet in 2017 was recorded at 9.3 percent, an increase of 3.0 percentage points from the 6.3 percent reported level in 2015 (Table 1).

Similarly, IE establishments engaged in e-commerce transactions via the internet in the country increased by 1.6 percentage points from 13.5

percent in 2015 to 15.1 percent in 2017 (Table 1).

Use of mobile phone in business transactions in Ilocos Region increased

Cellular mobile phone is another medium that can be used for doing business. Of the total IE establishments in Ilocos Region in 2017, 27.9 percent used mobile phones in their business transactions,  an increase of 19.8 percentage points from the 8.1 percent usage level  in 2015.

At the national level, it was recorded at 27.7 percent in 2017 -  a 10.3 percentage points increase from 17.4 percent in 2015 (Table 1).

Proportion of IE employees using computer routinely at work  in Ilocos Region showed an increase over a two-year period

Four in every five IE employees or 81.6 percent used computers routinely at work in 2017 in Ilocos Region. It was higher by 6.3 percentage points from the 75.3 percent recorded in 2015.

Meanwhile, 64.0 percent of IE employees who used computer routinely  at work was recorded in the country in 2017. It was higher  by 16.1 percentage points from 47.9 percent in 2015 (Table 1).

IE employees who use computer with internet connection routinely at work in Ilocos Region went up by 7.0 percentage points

In 2017, 78.7 percent of IE employees who uses computer with internet connection routinely at work were recorded in Ilocos Region. It increased by 7.0 percentage points from 71.7 percent of IE employees in 2015.

At the national level, 57.2 percent of the total IE employees used computers with internet connection or access routinely at work.   The proportion of IE employees that used computer with internet connection or access routinely at work in 2017 was higher  by 17.2 percentage points compared to the 40.0 percent level in 2015 (Table 1).