The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has released the annual Measuring Information Society Report, which evaluates the development of information and communication technologies in the ITU Member States. According to the Report the CIS region is ranked 2nd on the ICT development index (IDI) among the 6 ITU geographical regions, behind Europe and ahead of the American region, Africa, Arab nations, and the Asian-Pacific region. According to the Report of 2017 the Republic of Belarus is ranked 32nd and is the CIS leader in the development of information and communication technologies. Compared to the previous year, the Republic of Belarus has managed to improve its access sub-index (+3 points) and use sub-index (+2 points). Moreover Belarus remains one of the global leaders in terms of the Human Development Index (5th). The Report indicates that due to the wise and persistent policy Belarus has created a well-developed infrastructure, which allows providing the population with quality and affordable fixed and mobile broadband services. The ITU expects the successful implementation of the State Program on Development of Digital Economy and Information Society to allow the Republic of Belarus to improve and maintain its position in the ITU ranking by means of further rollout of LTE networks in the regions, development of fiber optic networks, satellite communications, digital television, and cloud technologies. Download the full Report at www.itu.int/mis2017, IDI data visualization is available at www.itu.int/idi2017. In 2018 the methodology for calculating the ICT development index will be substantially revised taking into account the current trends in the development of ICT. PDF