

Variations of the phrase have spread worldwide. From 2014, the National Curriculum has used the word computing, which reflects the addition of computer programming into the curriculum. However, in 2012, the Royal Society recommended that the use of the term "ICT" should be discontinued in British schools "as it has attracted too many negative connotations". The abbreviation "ICT" became popular after it was used in a report to the UK government by Dennis Stevenson in 1997, and then in the revised National Curriculum for England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2000. The phrase "information and communication technologies" has been used by academic researchers since the 1980s. Skills Framework for the Information Age is one of many models for describing and managing competencies for ICT professionals for the 21st century. It covers any product that will store, retrieve, manipulate, transmit, or receive information electronically in a digital form (e.g., personal computers including smartphones, digital television, email, or robots). ICT is a broad subject and the concepts are evolving. ICT also includes analog technology, such as paper communication, and any mode that transmits communication. ICT is an umbrella term that includes any communication device, encompassing radio, television, cell phones, computer and network hardware, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and appliances with them such as video conferencing and distance learning.

There are large economic incentives to merge the telephone networks with the computer network system using a single unified system of cabling, signal distribution, and management. ICT is also used to refer to the convergence of audiovisuals and telephone networks with computer networks through a single cabling or link system. Information and communications technology ( ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications ( telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage and audiovisual, that enable users to access, store, transmit, understand and manipulate information. A Concept Map on the Use of Information and Communication Technology (Information) in Educational Assessment as per the International Federation of ICT (the IFGICT)
