The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has released a new study comparing 154 countries in terms of their Information and Communications Technology (ICT) usage. The study puts Britain at the tenth position, which is quite dismal, at least in comparison with most other European countries, which have taken the higher spots.

The ITU uses a complex methodology to rank the countries, with two key measures as the components of the final score of a country. The first measure is the ICT Development Index, which combines factors like literacy levels, access and number of households with computers in the country. The second measure is the ICT Price Basket, which reflects the prices of comparable ICT services in the countries, with a lower price implying a high accessibility and hence a higher score for the country.

The UK seems to have lost out on the second measure, with ITU confirming that prices of ICT services in the UK are significantly higher than several other European nations. To compare the prices in the UK, click for more info on Mobile Broadband Genie.

There are no surprises at the top of the list, where Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway - holding the first four positions.

The International Telecommunication Union also expressed its optimism regarding mobile broadband increasing ICT penetration in many countries, especially the developing ones. The leading United Nations agency stressed that pre-existing infrastructure due to 3G penetration will go a long way in ensuring fast connectivity for users across the world.