{"title":"Digital divide: Mobile internet speeds in the Pacific","authors":"Amanda H A Watson, Rohan Fox","doi":"10.24135/pjr.v27i1and2.1168","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This article outlines mobile internet speeds experienced by 15 smartphone users in the Pacific region. It presents new quantitative data collected over a six-month-long period. The data were collected in order to provide a comparison of places and to look for trends over time. The research was adjusted for confounding factors like weather and building type. The findings indicate substantial differences between the internet speeds and reliability experienced in Australian cities compared to the readings in Pacific Island locations. Over the six-month-long period, there were no substantial improvements or decreases in internet speeds at any of the included locations. This finding takes into account changes in weather, time of day and surroundings. As expected, clear skies and outdoor settings were positively associated with faster internet speeds, compared to rainy periods and indoor readings in the same geographical areas.","PeriodicalId":44137,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Journalism Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0000,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Pacific Journalism Review","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v27i1and2.1168","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"COMMUNICATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
This article outlines mobile internet speeds experienced by 15 smartphone users in the Pacific region. It presents new quantitative data collected over a six-month-long period. The data were collected in order to provide a comparison of places and to look for trends over time. The research was adjusted for confounding factors like weather and building type. The findings indicate substantial differences between the internet speeds and reliability experienced in Australian cities compared to the readings in Pacific Island locations. Over the six-month-long period, there were no substantial improvements or decreases in internet speeds at any of the included locations. This finding takes into account changes in weather, time of day and surroundings. As expected, clear skies and outdoor settings were positively associated with faster internet speeds, compared to rainy periods and indoor readings in the same geographical areas.
期刊介绍:
While one objective of Pacific Journalism Review is research into Pacific journalism theory and practice, the journal has also expanding its interest into new areas of research and inquiry that reflect the broader impact of contemporary media practice and education. A particular focus is on the cultural politics of the media, including the following issues: new media and social movements, indigenous cultures in the age of globalisation, the politics of tourism and development, the role of the media and the formation of national identity and the cultural influence of New Zealand as a branch of the global economy within the Pacific region. It also has a special interest in climate change, environmental and development studies in the media and communication and vernacular media in the region.