KEY POINTS:
The gulf between dial-up internet users and those with broadband is greater than that between dial-up users and those with no internet access at all, says the leader of an international internet survey.
A study released on Monday by AUT University's Institute of Culture, Discourse and Communication, showed nearly one in three internet users were still using dial-up internet - a high proportion compared with other developed countries.
Yesterday, World Internet Project director Dr Jeffrey Cole said those using dial-up, which is slower and carries less data than broadband, were missing out on the most revolutionary effects of the internet.
Speaking at a Netsafe conference in Queenstown, Dr Cole said advantages such as being able to generate video and audio content, share information quickly and improve productivity at work were restricted to those with broadband.
Because the need to dial up was seen as a barrier, the average dial-up user tried to do all their online tasks in a few 20 to 30 minute slots per day, said Dr Cole. In contrast, the average broadband user dipped in and out of the internet, logging on for two or three minutes, 16 to 30 times or more a day.
Broadband users were more likely to rely on the internet for information, and to surf the net in communal places like the kitchen or living area. They could also take better advantage of online benefits like distance learning.
InternetNZ deputy executive director Jordan Carter said dial-up internet access had merely shifted many of the things people already did. For example, dial-up users would now send an email instead of a letter. Broadband access, on the other hand, changed the way people engaged with the world by allowing them to do things they could not have done without the internet, such as broadcast video content.
Mr Carter said broadband uptake had increased steadily since the Government introduced new regulations in 2006. However, he said more work was needed to achieve InternetNZ's goal of having fast broadband available to everyone.
The AUT study showed broadband access was better for younger, wealthier and urban-dwelling New Zealanders than for older or poorer people, or those in rural areas.
Both major political parties have proposed strategies to improve New Zealand's broadband network. Mr Carter said it was too soon to say which out of Labour's or National's plans for a fibre-optic overhaul of the country's phone and internet network would result in better broadband. An InternetNZ report on the competing proposals is due out in October.
