Visions and the Use of a Community Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Assessing the Effectiveness of the Delivery of Community Network Services

This study investigated the use of community information and communication technologies in light of its dual visions (i.e., serving as an affordable Internet service provider and a community building tool). Surveying the randomly selected users of a community network (n = 213), this study examined the influence of the community features on service use compared to that of Internet features. The present study found that the respondents were using the service mainly for general Internet features, such as email and web access. More than two-thirds of the respondents did not recognize community contents as available service. Community features of the service were found as significant predictors of use only among people who were aware of community contents but not among people who were not. Nonetheless, there was no difference in the amount of use between the two groups, indicating that the awareness of community contents itself did not increase use. Findings suggest that the service providers did not fully communicate the community aspect of the service with the users although the very aspect distinguishes the service from other Internet services.