In November 2017 researchers from the Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University surveyed Australian local government authorities (LGAs) to gather data on public Wi-Fi (PWF) provision. The survey is part of an Australian Research Council funded project Public Wi-Fi as Urban Infrastructure.

Wireless communication is now integral to the social, economic and cultural life of cities and will become increasingly so as Internet of Things (IOT) technologies alter existing urban processes and generate entirely new ones. Although wireless connectivity engages almost all aspects of urban governance, management of the underpinning infrastructure is essentially a new field of...

The report analyses data from the first large scale Australian survey of public wi-fi use. The report highlights shared challenges for public wi-fi users, employers, public wi-fi network providers, and policy-makers to promote public wi-fi security, while retaining the benefits of accessibility offered by this communication technology.

Community playgroups have significant social and economic benefits not just for children but also for their parents, particularly mothers, finds this report. Relationships Matter: The Social and Economic Benefits of Community Playgroups, funded by Playgroup Australia and undertaken by RMIT University’s Centre for Urban Research (CUR), identifies the benefits playgroups afford parents across the social...

The paper focuses on the link between regional development, social enterprise and digital infrastructure, through analysis of an initiative in Goulburn NSW, in which local entrepreneurs rigged up a wi-fi network, providing free internet access to the public in the city’s main street.