Since 2005, LIRNEasia has been conducting large-scale nationally representative demand-side research on ICT access and use in the Asia region. Starting 2017, we have started conducting nationally representative surveys of access to and use of ICTs in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia, as a start, with Sri Lanka and more countries to be added as funds become available. The work is part of a larger comparative project being conducted in partnership with RIA (Research ICT Africa) in Africa and DIRSI(Dialogo Regional sobre Sociedad de la Informacion) in Latin America.  The research is funded by the International Development Research Centre (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia) as well as the Ford Foundation (Indonesia and Nepal).

Objectives

This global effort is meant to collect a range of household, individual and small and micro-enterprise ICT data. The data will be able to offer us deeper insight into the demand-side barriers to digital equality. Our ability to inform policies and regulation will thereby have a more comprehensive base of evidence. The compiled indicators will meet threshold compliance of the WSIS-initiated Partnership for Measuring ICT for Development. The research will provide a detailed understanding of:

• Demand, or the absence of it
• Users, citizens and consumers in all their diversity
• What and what not people are using their mobile devices for
• Use of social networking and other services
• Awareness and use of platforms
• Whether these services stimulate take up and are a gateway to open Internet use or whether they are Internet ghettos for the poor
• What privacy and security concerns users have, and what coping mechanisms they use to overcome these, if at all
• The extent to which people use mobile wallet/financial services
• The reasons for people being offline
• What they are using the Internet for when they are.

The data collected will help us understand:

• The evolution of mobile use, internet use and the use of other ICTs
• Usage patterns and the associated demographics and to model these
• Consumer welfare, including affordability in the context of real users and real income – not national averages that mask inequality
• Constraints and drivers of usage ‘After Access’, particularly in relation to human development
• Use and constraints around mobile financial services
• Quality of service delivery of ICTs, both public and private
• How we can inform policy in ways that policy could not be informed other wise

Methodology

Interviews

Survey data is being collected from households and individuals, using comparable methodology and a common questionnaire with RIA and DIRSI (with some local customization). Field teams are conducting face-to-face interviews with the respondents and use electronic data entry (CAPI methods). The survey includes two components: (1) an interview with the household head of selected houses, on household characteristics; and (2) an interview with a randomly selected household member (aged 15-65) on individual characteristics and ICT usage.

Sampling

The sampling of households, individuals and enterprises has been done using probability-based sampling, enabling a representative sample to be selected. The desired level of accuracy for the survey is set to a confidence level of 95% and an absolute precision (relative margin of error) of approximately 3.5%.  Sample sizes ranged from 1,200 up to 5,000 per country. LIRNEasia’s sister network RIA developed the sampling method used for this study. RIA applied their method over the past decade in numerous countries in Africa to achieve nationally representative results for households, individuals and other target groups simultaneously in a cost-effective way. We may make country-wise adaptations to this method, however, based on the availability of national sampling frameworks.

Detailed methodology notes:

• Click here for detailed notes on methodology used in individual countries.

Datasets

The Asia component of the AfterAccess survey was conducted in six South and South Asian countries. The survey comprised three main components:

1. Six nationally representative surveys on ICT access and use in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal.
2. Two nationally representative surveys on ICT access and use by persons with disabilities in Sri Lanka and Nepal.
3. A nationally representative survey on ICT access and use by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Sri Lanka.

All survey datasets are provided below.

Please refer to this note for instructions on how to use LIRNEasia’s AfterAccess datasets.

The AfterAccess datasets are available for download via the links below. The datasets are provided in three formats: SPSS (.sav), Stata (.dta), and .CSV format. 

Visit the official AfterAccess page: www.afteraccess.net

Documents

• Digital technologies for education during the COVID-19 crisis in the Global South (Policy Brief)

  Education was hard hit due to the COVID-19 crisis. A year into the crisis, some educators, students and caregivers are still grappling to find ways to provide continuity in education while minimising COVID-19 outbreaks. Online learning was seemingly a silver bullet. The adoption of digital technologies for educational purposes increased significantly as a result. However, the experiences of all students were heterogeneous, differing between countries and socio-economic groups. This policy brief focuses primarily on the experiences of those in the Global South. It examines both longstanding issues, and new challenges brought about by the need to switch to digital learning models.

• ICT access and use by small- & medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka (Presentation)

  Presentation by Helani Galpaya at Ceylon Chamber of Commerce event on “Use of Digital Platforms for SMBs”. November 2020.

• ICT access and use by small & medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka (Presentation)

  Findings from the AfterAccess enterprise survey conducted in Sri Lanka during December 2018 – January 2019.

• Future of work in the Global South (Policy Brief)
• Future of Work in the Global South: Digital Labor, New Opportunities and Challenges (Working Paper)
• ICT access and use by Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in Sri Lanka (Presentation)

  ICT access and use by Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in Sri Lanka

• Mobile Phone Network and Migration: Evidence from Myanmar (Research Paper)

  This study explores the effect of the expansion of mobile phone signal on migration decisions in Myanmar.

• Poor digital awareness and skills are a barrier to internet use in Sri Lanka (Policy Brief)

  Access to the right devices (internet-enabled smartphones), affordable internet services, relevant content in a language known to the user, and the appropriate skills to make use of these digital services are collectively seen to be important to ensure economic and social development.

More Documents →

Events

• LIRNEasia on access for all, women and work at the inaugural Sri Lanka Internet Day
  LIRNEasia discussed policy challenges of ensuring access for all as well as the challenges of working from home during a pandemic for women at the the inaugural Sri Lanka Internet Day, organised by the Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) on 6-7 April 2021.
• LIRNEasia CEO at Ceylon Chamber event “Use of Digital Platforms for SMBs”
  LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya participated in a panel discussion organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on "Use of Digital Platforms for SMBs".
• AfterAccess findings from Sri Lanka released in Colombo today (Event Report)
  Sri Lanka performs poorly on digital indicators, awareness of internet and related services does not translate to use, and the majority of social media users in Sri Lanka think that blocking social media during times of national unrest "is the right thing to do".
• Imagining a Feminist Internet
  It is the same ‘internet’ that we all hope for and are working toward: one which is accessible to all, safe, secure and open, and provides equal opportunities for all groups, minorities, etc.
• LIRNEasia at Myanmar Digital Rights Forum 2019
  LIRNEasia’s research on ICTs and gender in Myanmar was presented at the Myanmar Digital Rights Forum that took place on 18 and 19 January 2019 in Yangon.

More Events →

People

Helani Galpaya

Ayesha Zainudeen

Christoph Stork

Isuru Samaratunga

Tharaka Amarasinghe

Blogs and Updates

• Catalysing change: Sri Lanka refines digital literacy definition
    LIRNEasia has, over recent years, challenged the outdated and inadequate definition of computer literacy used by the Department of Census and Statistics of Sri Lanka (DCS).
• Digital platforms in Asia: Access and use
  LIRNEasia conducted a study on digital platform use across six countries in South and Southeast Asia.
• Sri Lanka’s mobile transmission tower coverage
  The topic of transmission towers built to facilitate mobile phone service is well known and some people are of the opinion that mobile phone transmission towers are wreaking havoc on the country.
• Infrastructural development needed for Sri Lanka’s telecommunication sector
  Data usage in Sri Lanka has exploded by a hundred percent between March 2020 and the beginning of July 2021, with increasing complaints against service providers over speeds, connection drops and bad quality.
• LIRNEasia on access for all, women and work at the inaugural Sri Lanka Internet Day
  LIRNEasia discussed policy challenges of ensuring access for all as well as the challenges of working from home during a pandemic for women at the the inaugural Sri Lanka Internet Day, organised by the Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) on 6-7 April 2021.
• Digital technologies for education during the COVID-19 crisis in the Global South (Policy Brief)
  Education was hard hit due to the COVID-19 crisis.
• ICT access and use by small- & medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka (Presentation)
  Presentation by Helani Galpaya at Ceylon Chamber of Commerce event on "Use of Digital Platforms for SMBs".
• LIRNEasia CEO at Ceylon Chamber event “Use of Digital Platforms for SMBs”
  LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya participated in a panel discussion organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on "Use of Digital Platforms for SMBs".
• ICT access and use by small & medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka (Presentation)
  Findings from the AfterAccess enterprise survey conducted in Sri Lanka during December 2018 – January 2019.
• Future of work in the Global South (Policy Brief)
• Future of Work in the Global South: Digital Labor, New Opportunities and Challenges (Working Paper)
• ICT access and use by Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in Sri Lanka (Presentation)
  ICT access and use by Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in Sri Lanka
• Derailing the telecoms policy train in Bangladesh
  Slightly malfunctional signaling system can cause a train wreck.
• Demand pull for Internet created by the needs of education in post-COVID-19 era
  Senior Research Fellow Sujata Gamage‘s op-ed in today’s Daily FT concludes thus: Sri Lanka and most developing countries have come a long way from a situation where owning a phone was a luxury to where, for example in Sri Lanka, 97% of households have access to a mobile phone.
• Need for quick action to double the number of Internet users in the country
  Social media celebrities are campaigning for unlimited data packages.
• Mobile Phone Network and Migration: Evidence from Myanmar (Research Paper)
  This study explores the effect of the expansion of mobile phone signal on migration decisions in Myanmar.
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