ICT usage in enterprises, 2003

87 per cent of all Norwegian enterprises with at least 10 employees had Internet access in the first quarter of 2003. The share increased from 82 per cent by the end of 2001. In the period 1998 to 2003 the share of enterprises with Internet access increased greatly.

Access to Internet varied with the size of the enterprises. In the first quarter of 2003, almost all enterprises with at least 100 employees had Internet access. Among enterprises with 10-19 employees, the share was about 80 per cent.

The share with Internet access is lowest within Retail trade and hotel and restaurants. In these industries, about 70 per cent of the enterprises had access to Internet in the first quarter of 2003. In the other industries about 90 per cent of the enterprises had Internet access.

The survey's sample size makes the shares for Internet access somewhat uncertain for smaller counties. Statistics Norway has developed a method that provides better quality for regional results than the previous statistics production. The figures show that regional differences are levelled out. Internet access is about 90 per cent in most counties. Structures of industry and the enterprise's size distribution vary regionally. Differences between the counties should be evaluated on this background.

Internet access is above measured based on the number of enterprises with access to the Internet. In many enterprises only a share of the PCs are connected to the Internet. The survey shows that in the first quarter of 2003, only 52 per cent of the employees used PC with access to the Internet (in enterprises with at least ten employees).

Internet access less common among small enterprises

Three out of four enterprises with five-nine employees had Internet access in the first quarter of 2003. The share increased from 66 per cent by the end of 2001. For small enterprises, Internet access is lowest among hotels and restaurants. In this industry, only about half of all enterprises had access to Internet.

In many small enterprises with Internet access, only a share of the PCs are connected to the Internet. Not more than 44 per cent of the employees used PC with access to Internet in the first quarter of 2003 (in enterprises with five-nine employees).

One out of four has broadband

Because several enterprises have more than one type of Internet connection, the shares for Internet connections exceed the share for Internet access. In the first quarter of 2003, half of all Norwegian enterprises with at least 10 employees had ISDN. Many define broadband as transmission capacity larger than 2 Mbit per second. This survey asked the enterprises if they were connected to Internet via a "Permanent broadband connection with a capacity of at least 2 Mbit per second". 26 per cent of all Norwegian enterprises with at least 10 employees had broadband in the first quarter of 2003. The share increased from 19 per cent by the end of 2001.

Software against virus most important safety precaution

The enterprises reported that "Virus control and protection software" was the most important safety precaution. About 80 per cent of the enterprises used protection software in the first quarter of 2003. At the same time only half of the enterprises used firewalls. One out of four enterprises used a server with a secure connection. Only 10 per cent of the enterprises used digital signatures.

Tables:

• Table 1 Share of all enterprises with Internet access, distributed by employment groups. 1998-2003. Per cent
• Table 2 Share of all enterprises with Internet access, distributed by area of industry. 1998-2003. Per cent
• Table 3 Share of all enterprises with Internet access, distributed by county. 1998-2003. Per cent
• Table 4 Share of all small enterprises (5-9 employees) with Internet access, distributed by area of industry. 2001-2003. Per cent
• Table 5 Share of all enterprises with different types of Internet connections, distributed by employment groups. 2003. Per cent
• Table 6 Share of all enterprises with different types of Internet connections, distributed by area of industry. 2003. Per cent
• Table 7 Share of all small enterprises (5-9 employees) with different types of Internet connections, distributed by area of industry. 2003. Per cent
• Table 8 Share of all enterprises with broadband, distributed by employment groups. 2001-2003. Per cent
• Table 9 Share of all enterprises with broadband, distributed by area of industry. 2001-2003. Per cent
• Table 10 Share of all enterprises with ADSL etc. , distributed by employment groups. 2001-2003. Per cent
• Table 11 Share of all enterprises with ADSL etc., distributed by area of industry. 2001-2003. Per cent
• Table 12 Share of all enterprises with homepage, distributed by employment groups. 1998-2003. Per cent
• Table 13 Share of all enterprises with homepage, distributed by area of industry. 1998-2003. Per cent
• Table 14 Share of all enterprises with homepage, distributed by county. 1998-2003. Per cent
• Table 15 Internet sales. Share of all enterprises with turnover from sales via Internet. Enterprises with 10+ employees. 1998-2003. Per cent
• Table 16 Share of all enterprises with various security measures. 2003. Per cent
• Table 17 Share of all employees which used PC with Internet access, distributed by employment groups. 2000-2003. Per cent
• Table 18 Share of all employees which used PC with Internet access, distributed by area of industry. 2000-2003. Per cent
• Table 19 Share of all employees which used PC with Internet access, distributed by county. 2000-2003. Per cent