Une approche quantitative de la disparité des usages de Technologies de l’information
Authors: Brousseau Eric 
Published: February 2020

In this article, I try to estimate on a quantitative basis the disparity in matter of usage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This study is based on estimations founded on data produced by various French public and private institutions.

I begin by studying the differentiated behavior of the diverse industries. Firstly, I show the disparity of distribution of data-processing assets (six industries representing 43.6% of the national gross production concentrate 80.35% of all the equipment). This fact is partly explained by the extreme diversity of equipment rate in the different industries (seven industries have an equipment rate largely superior to the average, while the 30 other industries have a very low equipment rate). Secondly, I show the same disparity concerning the propensity to use telecommunication services. Seven industries concentrate 74.8% of telecommunication expenditures while representing only 53.6 % of the GNP. This fact is also partly due to a disparity in the inclination to telecommunicate. Again seven branches have a high rate of usage for telecommunications services. However the industries that intensively use data-processing technologies are not always the same than those that intensively telecommunicate. These figures that we estimate have the interest to enable comparison among industries.

The size of the users is also a factor which explains the differences in the usage of ICTs. In France over a total population of 3.1 million businesses, the major 250 account for 54% in the data-processing expenditures. In addition, the 50 main french companies represent 10% of all telecommunications expenditures.

These data I have collected and partially estimated are obviously open to criticism because they are partly difficult to cross as the different sources arc at a certain degree incompatible. However, these figures confirm the great disparities among firms of different size and among industries in the use of ICTs. Such elements should be taken in account by the many analyses that put emphasis on the impact of these technologies on users or which analyse the diffusion of ICTs.

Thirdly, this information is used to propose a simple but useful typology of ICTs users. Four types of industries clearly emerge from this analysis :

- first, most of the industries belonging to the “primary sector” (agriculture and mining) or to the secondary ones (manufacturing industries), are characterized by a low level of computerization and a low propensity to communicate ; - secondly, professional and customer services industries (except telecommunications, transport, financial and distribution services) are very computerized and intensively use telecommunications services ;

- thirdly, banks, insurance companies and financial services firms have a very high equipment rate for data-processing machines but are not characterized by an important inclination to use telecommunications services. This is also the case in electric and electronic manufacturing ;

- on the contrary, distribution, transport and telecommunications industries do intensively use telecommunications but are not very intensively equipped with data-processing capacities.