3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/45

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.Internet telephony--South Africa

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Free wifi giving a voice to the community: a case of the Johannesburg public wifi in Soweto
    (2019) Mnisi, N
    Various authorsi have warned against the assumption that mere access to the internet by disadvantaged communities will automatically yield active citizens, participation and voice. This thesis focuses on uncovering the extent to which availability of free public wifi in a disadvantaged community can enable a voice for that community. This research, conducted at three wifi hotspots uses a mixed methods approach, with a questionnaire for quantitative analysis and observation for qualitative as the data collection methods. The findings of the research indicate that despite the government's efforts to get the Soweto community online through free wifi provision, key disadvantaged stakeholders in the community remain excluded. These include women, people over 40 years of age and older, the disabled and people who are too old or sickly to walk to the free wifi zones. However, the findings also suggested that the advantage of social media for community members lies in its ability to connect people to the decision makers directly, rather than reliance on a third party or mediator to receive feedback on issues raised. The findings suggest that community members who engage with government officials aim to solve issues relating to provision of basic services in many cases. Overall, the findings point to an incongruity between the expectations of what free public wifi can offer in terms of improving the well-being of disadvantaged communities, and the lived reality of those communities
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The impact of WI-FI as a complementary service on customers' likelihood to return and purchase intentions in South African townships
    (2016) Kovar, Julian
    Online activity through the Internet and mobile phones has dramatically increased over the last five years in South Africa (Nyirenda-Jere & Tesfaye , 2015). Lower costs for Internet and mobile phones are the main reasons for more and more people being connected (Price Waterhouse Cooper South Africa, 2012). But discrepancies exist, namely between the people who are connected and those who are not. This discrepancy is referred to as the digital divide and contributing factors towards it include income, education, age and other factors which were discussed in this paper (Nievhaves, Gorbacheva & Plattfaut, 2012). Free Wi-Fi is one of the solutions to bridge the digital divide to a certain extent and it is also a very valuable tool to marketers and business owners. This research study was aimed at understanding the impact of free Wi-Fi on consumers’ purchase intentions and likelihood to return in townships in South Africa. People in townships are an important group to analyse, because of the millions of inhabitants. Infrastructure in terms of the Internet is not as good as the infrastructure standards in suburbs or in the city. The purpose of the study was to find out the impact of free Wi-Fi on the likelihood of customers to return and their likelihood to purchase something at a location where free Wi-Fi is offered. For the purpose of this research a quantitative approach was used to investigate the impact of free Wi-Fi and factors leading to return and intention to conduct purchases. Non-probability sampling was used in the form of convenience sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was developed to investigate behaviour. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed to people living in Soweto. The analysis indicated that the four access variables, namely - material, mental, usage and skills access - have an influence on the intention to use free Wi-Fi which, in turn, has an influence on the likelihood to return or purchase something. Implications for marketers and businesses is: the marketers have to consider the digital divide when marketing to consumers in South Africa and that offering free Wi-Fi at a commercial place has positive implications for both customers and businesses.
Copyright Ownership Is Guided By The University's

Intellectual Property policy

Students submitting a Thesis or Dissertation must be aware of current copyright issues. Both for the protection of your original work as well as the protection of another's copyrighted work, you should follow all current copyright law.