Hotspots and Free WiFi in a Ubiquitous City. Do they Serve Citizens’
Information Needs?The U-City Oulu as a Case Study
L. Schumann, S. Rölike & W. G. StockHeinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Germany
Overview
• Ubiquitous Cities
• The U-City Oulu
• Methods
• Results
• Prospects
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 2
Ubiquitous Computing
• Ubiquitous (=omnipresent) computing: integrating
information processing thoroughly into everyday objects and
activities
• Participants may not necessarily even be aware of the
technology
“Machines that fit the human environment instead of forcing
humans to enter theirs" (York & Pendharkar, 2004, p. 771)
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 3
Ubiquitous Cities
• Ubiquitous computing in a city wide context:
– Integrating advanced ICT-based infrastructures, city-specific
information services and content into the urban space
• Aim:
– Offer any services anywhere and anytime
– enhanced living conditions
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 4
Ubiquitous Cities - Services
Different aspects of the daily routine:
• U-Life:– Home banking, telecommuting, teleconferencing, telemedicine, remote sensing,
telematics
• U-Business:– Multimedia conferencing, information management, virtual markets, smart-offices
• U-Government:– Emergency control, intelligent transportation system (ITS), control of urban
infrastructure, environment monitoring, sensor networks
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 5
The U-City Oulu
• City in Northern Finland, fourth largest city of Finland,
considered as the "smartest city of Europe" (ICF, 2012)
• Project "UbiOulu":
– PanOULU: Open and free city-wide WiFi-network
– UBI-Hotspots: Interactive public displays providing information
services
– Middleware: Necessary for the functionality
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 6
panOULU
• Public-private partnership involving five public organizations
and four ISPs
• ∼ 1,350 Access Points (APs)
• ∼ 500 APs deployed near the city center
• Public places in and around Oulu
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 7
panOULU
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 8
= OK = Offline = Status unknown = Upcoming = Several access points
UBI-Hotspots
• Since May 2009
• 21 indoor and outdoor displays
• 57” Full HD LCD panel, internet connection, quad core control
PC, 2 overhead video cameras, NFC/RFID reader, loudspeakers
etc.
• 2 different modes:
– Passive broadcast mode
– Interactive mode
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 9
UBI-Hotspots
• Categories: News, Services, City, 3rd Party, Fun & Games,
Multimedia, New Cool Stuff
• Massive amount of quantitative and qualitative data
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 10
Case Study - Methods
• Qualitative interviews with stakeholders
• Quantitative user study
• Participants (n ≈ 1.000):
– University students (University of Oulu)
– Upper secondary school students (Oulun Lyseo
Upper Secondary School)
• 100 hard copy questionnaires
• Online questionnaire (May 23rd to June 10th 2012)
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 11
Digital Natives
Case Study – MethodsQuestionnaires
• Four categories:
– Demographical aspects (four questions)
– UBI Displays (eight questions)
– PanOULU WLAN (six questions)
– General questions (five questions)
• Five types of questions:
– Multiple choice
– Multiple choice and additional text field possibility of commenting an answer
– Free text field
– Scale with grades (1-5)
– Questions that depend on a preceding question
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 12
Case Study - Methods
• Research questions:(1) Do hotspots really meet information needs of their users? What kinds
of services are mainly used via interactive screens?
(2) Does free WiFi satisfy information needs of the users? What kinds of
services are mainly used via free WiFi?• Is free WiFi a competitor of commercial internet service providers? Does it lead to
market distortion?
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 13
Case Study - Results
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 14
0
100
200
300
400
500
600566
209 199 168 161107 90
17
What do you use the UBI displays for?
n=1.045; multiple answers
1)
News
Face
book
Bus sch
edules
Weather
Orientation
Events
File sh
aring
OtherSky
pe
Not at a
ll
Games TV0
100200300400500600700800 710
632559 553 502
377292
172 152 134 120 117 66
What do you use the panOULU WLAN for?
n=1.028; multiple answers
Case Study - Results
2)
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 15
n=652; multiple answers
Map
Oulu Today
City of O
ulu
Kaenkky
Finnkin
o
Transport
Event C
alender
Restaurants
UBI Postc
ard
Hangman0
50
100
150
200
250246
197
145132 121 112
97 9582
54
What do you use the UBI displays for? (Top 10)
Case Study - Results
3)
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 16
n=1.047
67%
23%
10%YesNoOther
Do you think there are enough UBI Displays in Oulu?
Case Study - Results
4)
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 17
n=1.047
58%26%
16%YesNoOther
Do you think the UBI displays are useful?
Case Study - Results
5)
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n=1.046
1% 1%2%21%
55%
20%
How often do you use the UBI Displays per week?
Every day5-6 times3-4 times1-2 timesNeverSeldom
Case Study - Results
6)
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 19
n=610
69%
31%
Have you ever had any difficulties while using an UBI Display?
YesNo
Case Study - Results
7)
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 20
n=1.010; multiple answers
Computer/Laptop
Smartphone Not at all Tablet computer
Other0
100200300400500600700800 709
579
118 9619
How do you access the internet via panOULU WLAN?
Case Study - Results
9)
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 21
n=1.025; multiple answers Data safety Surveillance No Other
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
369
188
589
41
Do you have any concerns using the panOULU WLAN?
Case Study - Results
10)
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 22
n=1.028
2%
87%
7%4%
Via panOULU WLAN
Via commercial internet provider
Both
Other
How do you/your family access the internet when you are/they are at home?
Case Study - Results
11)
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 23
n=1.026
8% 14%
17%
19%
38%
4% No, because I use the panOULU WLAN
No, my mobile phone doesn't support internet
No, I don't need it
Yes and I don't use the panOULU WLAN
Yes, but I still use the panOULU WLAN
Other
Do you acquire a seperate internet provider for your mobile phone?
Case Study - Results
12)
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 24
n=1.013
1%21%
47%
14%
7% 9% Very fast
Fast
Average
Slow
Too slow
Other
What do you think of the speed of the panOULU WLAN?
Case Study - Results
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 25
n=1.025
46.54%
5.46%
45.76%
2.24%
Yes
No
I don't care
Other
Do you wish the UBI displays would be introduced in other cities?
13)
n=1.025
78.83%
3.12%16.00%
2.05%YesNoI don't careOther
Do you wish the panOULU WLAN would be introduced in other cities?
Case Study - Results
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 26
n=948
13%
42%
45%
Yes
No, I have not stopped using
I never used any of them
Have you stopped using the UBI displays?
14)
n=1.001
8%
81%
12% Yes
No, I have not stopped us-ing it
I never used any of them
Have you stopped using the panOULU WLAN?
Case Study - Results
• No significant gender specific differences
• Weather doesn‘t influence the usage of the hotspots
indoor and outdoor hotspots
• Turnover of local ISPs not endangered by the panOULU
WLAN
• Both services satisfy the definition of ubiquitous tools
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 27
Case Study - Results
Hotspots:
• Rarely used
• Meet the information needs of their users only to small extent
• Limited to city-specific information
• Small perceived usefulness
• Needs for improvement:
– Usability
– Content
– Technical aspects
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Case Study - Results
Open WiFi:
• Frequently-used service
• Satisfies many different information needs, e.g.:
– Communication (e-mail)
– News
– Social networking (Facebook)
– Basic needs etc.
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Case Study - Results
Open WiFi:
• Considered as useful
• Not as limited to a specific place as the UBI Hotspots
• Needs for improvement:
– Covered area
– Safety
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 30
Prospects
• Why do people prefer the panOULU WLAN?
• How do usage, adoption, trust and perceived
usefulness correlate?
Information Service Evaluation Model
(ISE-Model)
Schumann, Rölike & Stock 31
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