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Procedia Computer Science 00 (2018) 000–000
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ScienceDirect
Procedia Computer Science 132 (2018) 297–306

International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Data Science (ICCIDS 2018)

Adoption of public WiFi using UTAUT2: An exploration in an

emerging economy
Reema Aswania,*, P. Vigneswara Ilavarasana, Arpan Kumar Kara, Shrihari Vijayana
a
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016, India

Abstract

The dependence on information technology has evidently increased over the past decade. With the increased internet use and the
need for accessing information on the go, the use of wireless internet has also been on the higher side. This need for always
staying connected to the web has opened avenues for the usage of public internet services. The current study thus investigates the
adoption of these public WiFi by the consumers. The study adopts the conceptual model of UTAUT2 which uses various
variables to explain the acceptance of technology. The analysis uses the data procured from 257 respondents through a structured
questionnaire which collects data surrounding model variables along with the demographics of the users. Variables including
Facilitating Condition, Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Hedonic Motivation, Trust, Individual
Characteristics, Business Intention and Usage are considered to be influencing the acceptance of public WiFi technology. The
statistical analysis of the responses has been done by conducting tests on reliability and validity. The regression analysis and path
analysis lead to the findings which may be useful by various stakeholders for decision making surrounding the promotion of their
services in the sector.

© 2018 The©Authors.
1877-0509 2018 ThePublished
Authors.by Elsevier by
Published Ltd.
Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Computational Intelligence and
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Computational Intelligence and
Data Science (ICCIDS 2018).
Data Science (ICCIDS 2018).
Keywords: ICT4D; internet services; UTAUT; technology adoption; digital economy

1. Introduction

The world’s dependence on information technology has been seen to increase exponentially over the past decade
[1]. The exponential rise has been due to corresponding increase in the internet users and also the advancement in

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 011-26597320

E-mail address: reemaswani@gmail.com

1877-0509 © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Computational Intelligence and
Data Science (ICCIDS 2018).

1877-0509 © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Data Science
(ICCIDS 2018).
10.1016/j.procs.2018.05.180
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2 Reema Aswani et al. / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2018) 000–000

mobility technology [2]. The mobile data technology has seen considerable improvement with the advent of 3G, 4G
and 5G technologies across the globe [3]. The advancements in mobile data technology has also bridged the
otherwise separate Information technology (IT) and communication technology to Information and Communication
technology (ICT) [4] [5]. The internet technology being the backbone coupled with smart phones and tablets has
resulted in expanding the consumer base of mobile data services [6]. In the current scenario, there are several e-
governance projects that have been initiated with the advent of digitization [7] [8]. Therefore, the handheld devices
have led to rise in use of different wireless technologies.

In India, as per TRAI on Public WiFi the mobile network data usage is significantly higher than other forms of
internet usage [9]. Therefore, the demand on mobile network spectrum will also increase correspondingly therefore
the Indian government is trying to proliferate the use of affordable WiFi technology for data access. The use of
Public WiFi has been on the rise globally with large number of people adopting the technology. The data as per
TRAI consultation paper indicates that globally the increase in number of public WiFi has been 568% while in
India the increase has only been 12%. The purpose of this study is to understand the low growth of Public WiFi and
understand the lower adoption of Public WiFi in our day to day activities.

Digital divide in our society is one of the main reasons for non-acceptance of a technology [10] [11]. The factors
that lead to such divide may be due to socio economic divide, availability of alternate technology, information need
of individuals and lack of interest as brought out by a study on non users of computers. The current study therefore
uses the model of user acceptance of IT to better understand the use/non use of public WiFi. The study uses existing
literature first to understand the possible reasons for a digital divide or study of use and non use of technology and
second to review the different theoretical models framed to predict the acceptance and usage of information
technology/systems. A visit to popular marketplaces, railway stations and cafés providing public WiFi facility is
conducted for a qualitative assessment of the use/non use of WiFi. The qualitative study is undertaken interviewing
people who are using the public WiFi at the mentioned locations. The study was undertaken to understand the
various factors leading to use of public WiFi broadly over personal information, user behavior and perceived
benefits and concerns.

The subsequent sections discuss the existing work in the domain of use and acceptance of information
technology services followed by the core contribution of this study, the adopted research methodology, findings and
conclusion. The methodology focuses on description of the dataset under consideration, reliability and validity tests
and lastly proposes a regression model for measuring user intent and usage of Public WiFi.

2. Literature review

There has been extensive research in the domain of acceptance and use of IT services [12]. It has been discussed
and stated in the literature that one must first use a technology before desired acceptability for mass adoption can be
achieved through it [13] [14] [15] [16]. The same is applicable in the current era of digitization with rampant growth
of mobile devices over the past few decades and the growing need of accessing information on the go, the concept
of accessing wireless internet through mobile devices has been popular. Existing studies have discussed the success
of wireless internet services though user acceptance conceptual frameworks like Technology Adoption Model
(TAM) [17]. Porter & Donthu [18] utilized this acceptance model to determine of user attitudes affects the use of
internet.

Over the years several researches have taken place to understand the adoption of technology when it comes to
wireless internet services [17]. The research on the acceptance of technology primarily focuses on the user
perceptions about usefulness, usability and adaptability. These studies have been effectively utilized to understand
and adapt the technology implementation to the needs of the consumer. However, the social science research
suggests that the adoption of such technologies is also affected by behavior and psychological factors [19]. This
makes it critical to understand the dynamics of such influencing factors while making any decisions surrounding the
technology adoption strategies.
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Reema Aswani et al. / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2018) 000–000 3

Further, the various adoption models were synthesized into a unified theory through Unified Theory of
Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) which was developed to predict the user’s adoption of information
technology/systems [20]. The authors investigated the moderating effect of age, gender, experience, and
voluntariness on the use in addition of mandatory and voluntary systems. In this model seven factors were found to
be determining the intention or usage. The four variables of the model is directly influencing intentions to use.
Venkatesh et al. [21] proposed the UTAUT2 by integrating additional variables and illustrated their relationships to
UTAUT. Table 1. highlights the popular acceptance theories and models.

Table 1. Technology adoption models

Model/Theory Authors
Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) Sheppard, Hartwick & Warshaw (1988) [22]
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Venkatesh & Davis (2000) [23]
Motivational Model (MM) Davis, Bagozzi & Warshaw (1992) [24]
Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) Ajzen (1985) [25]
Model of PC Utilization (MPCU) Thompson, Higgins & Howell (1991) [26]
Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) Rogers (1995) [27]
Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) Bandura (1989) [28]
Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis (2003) [20]

The current study utilises the UTAUT2 model for understanding the adoption of public WiFi services in India.
The study uses a set of questions that are mapped to the unified theory constructs for exploring the adoption and
subsequent penetration of wireless internet services at public places.

3. Contribution of the study

The main contribution of this study is the extension of UTAUT2 model for analyzing the adoption of Public
WiFi in India. To the best of our knowledge such constructs and models have never been used in the scientific
literature for discussing the adoption surrounding public internet services. The study categorizes the data collected
into appropriate constructs to model behavioral intention and subsequent usage of these services by people. A
regression model successfully maps the dependent constructs surrounding technology adoption by users to the final
intent and usage outcome. The study also attempts to describe use/non-use in terms of demographic, geographic and
psychographic attributes that become significant when users are exposed to something new. The subsequent section
clearly defines the methodology adopted in the study which comprises of development of a structured questionnaire,
categorization into adoption constructs followed by data collection. Further, path analysis and validity tests are
conducted to finally create a regression model for prediction of Public WiFi usage.

4. Research methodology

The study has been conducted by undertaking a qualitative analysis in the form interview of various people who
have used the public WiFi services. The interview along with literature survey has provided the factors influencing
adoption of public WiFi. A survey was conducted in Delhi and Mumbai to from mid March 2017 to April 2017
using questionnaire which was distributed to eligible respondents. The sample was chosen based on age of the
respondents. The study uses the UTAUT2 as the theoretical model for exploring the adoption of Public WiFi. The
variables include Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), Facilitating
Conditions (FC), Hedonic Motivation (HM), Behavioral Intention (BI) and Usage (U). The study has not utilized the
Price value and habit as separate variables from the UTAUT model. However, two variables namely Individual
Characteristics (IC) (indicating intrinsic motivation) and Trust (TR) have been additionally included for the study.
The definition of the various variables of the theoretical model along is illustrated in Table 2. The variables have
been derived from the questionnaire by grouping appropriate questions depending based on the characteristics.
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Table 2. Details of variables in theoretical model along with variables in the questionnaire
Construct
Performance Expectancy (PE)
Effort Expectancy (EE)
Facilitating Condition (FC)
Social Influence (SI)
Hedonic Motivation (HM)
Trust (TR)
Individual Characteristics (IC)
Behavioral Intention (BI)
Usage (U)
Definition
The degree to which using a technology will provide benefits to the consumers in performing
certain activities.
The degree of ease associated with consumer’s use of technology.
The consumer’s perceptions of the availability of resources and support to perform behavior.
The extent of influence of family and friends of the consumer to use a particular technology.
The fun or pleasure derived from using a technology.
The belief that other party will behave in a dependable, ethical and socially appropriate manner.
Used to assess the individual respondents willingness to use the technology to experiment new uses.
The indication of an individual’s readiness to perform a given behavior. It is a predictor that
determines actual use.
The actual use of technology or system which is determined by researchers by type of use, time
utilized on a system and frequency and variety of use.

4.1. Data description

A total of 257 respondents participated in the survey. Eighty four percent of the respondents were male and only
sixteen percent of the respondents were female with majority of the respondents being in the age group of 21-35.
Further ninety six percent of the respondents had mobile/tablet with internet connection and ninety one person of the
respondents used mobile or tablet to access internet outside their home. The analysis also revealed that ninety three
percent of the people have accessed public WiFi. The monthly expenditure of respondents on data services for less
the 200 (40.1%), 201-500 (49.8%), 501-800 (6.6%) and greater than 800 (3.5%). The data also indicated that money
spent on data services is certainly not significantly dependent on income of the person. The details of the
respondents are illustrated in Fig. 1. The dataset comprises of about 17 questions about the background of the
candidates. Further, there are about 40 questions that are used to mine insights surrounding the usage and adoption
of Public WiFi. These have been categorized into relevant constructs described in the previous sections. The
subsequent sub-sections highlight the results of the significant statistical tests performed for the analysis of data.

Age Group Educational Qualification

250 140

120
200
100

150
80
Count
Count

60
100

40
50
20

0 0
<20 21-35 36-50 >50 Class 1-9 Class 10-12 Graduate Post Graduate
Age Education

Fig. 1. Respondent data description

4.2. Reliability

Reliability is the consistent result produced by a scale on undertaking repeated measurements. Therefore, it
measures the extent to which random errors doesn’t affect the measurement. The test determines association of the
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score by different administration of the scale. This results in indicating the proportion of systematic variation in a
scale. There are several methods used to establish reliability i.e., test- retest, alternative forms, internal consistency
and split halves reliability method. Cronbach's alpha ( is a coefficient measure of internal consistency reliability
where the coefficient varies from 0 to 1 as expressed by Equation 1.

(1)

where represents the number of items, is a measure of the mean covariance between the pairs of items
and is representative of the mean variance. The coefficient value above 0.7 is considered to the cut off in the
scale. The Cronbach’s alpha calculated for the variables are given in Table 3.

Table 3. Cronbach's alpha values

Variable Cronbach's alpha
Performance Expectancy (PE) 0.903
Effort Expectancy (EE) 0.691
Facilitating Condition (FC) 0.430
Social Influence (SI) 0.743
Hedonic Motivation (HM) 0.674
Trust (TR) 0.516
Individual Characteristic (IC) 0.760
Behavioural Intention (BI) 0.708
Usage (U) 0.673

4.3. Validity tests

The validity of a scale indicates the extent of difference in scale scores. This reflects actual differences of
characteristics of objects being measured instead of systematic or random error. Therefore researchers assess content
validity or construct validity. Content validity also called face validity is a subjective but systematic evaluation. It
indicates the wellness of the content of a scale with the measurement task being undertaken. This analysis is
reviewed and established by experts in the field. The same has been undertaken by the domain expert and after
number of iterations the same has been ensured. The construct or characteristics of the scale determines the
measurement. Therefore, construct validity addresses what constructs or characteristics the scale is being used for
the measurement. Here, the researcher tries to answer theoretical questions about the reason for working of the scale
works and deductions that can be made about the underlying theory. It is sophisticated and difficult to establish.
Further, nomological validity uses correlation between scales predict the ways different measures relate to a
construct. It is tested by examination of the correlation between the constructs in the measurement model as
represented in Equation 2 which uses the Pearson's Correlation Coefficient ( ). The details of the correlation are
highlighted in Table 4.

(2)
where is the covariance between & are the standard deviations of &

Table 4. Correlation among variables

PE EE FC HM TR SI IC BI U
PE 1
EE 0.313 1
FC 0.3 0.351 1
HM 0.343 0.311 0.416 1
TR 0.372 0.424 0.440 0.477 1
SI 0.246 0.290 0.275 0.395 0.546 1
IC 0.255 0.311 0.215 0.303 0.200 0.192 1
BI 0.249 0.287 0.217 0.392 0.369 0.333 0.525 1
U 0.185 0.142 0.099 0.213 0.154 0.084 0.240 0.289 1
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4.4. Regression analysis

Regression analysis is a statistical procedure to analyse associative relationships between a metric dependent
variable and other independent variables. In the current study, the regression is used to derive relationship between a
dependent variable and independent variable. The analysis has been undertaken over the variables and following
results have been obtained as illustrated in Table 5.

Table 5. Regression analysis for public WiFi data

Estimate β SE Sig
BI PE 0.009 0.046 0.873
BI EE 0.021 0.070 0.717
BI FC -0.049 0.073 0.404
BI HM 0.155 0.055 0.013
BI TR 0.161 0.068 0.020
BI SI 0.108 0.053 0.078
BI IC 0.427 0.052 0.000
U FC - 0.031 0.051 0.662
U TR 0.027 0.048 0.741
U IC 0.095 0.040 0.193
U BI 0.192 0.044 0.012

The beta coefficient (β) denotes the standardised regression coefficient. Standardisation is the process of
converting raw data into a variable with zero mean and variance of 1. The null hypothesis and alternate hypothesis is
used to interpret the statistical significance of linear relationship between the two variables. The null hypothesis
implies no linear relationship between two variables whereas alternate hypothesis indicates a relationship. In null
hypothesis the value of β is zero whilst in alternate hypothesis it’s not equal to zero. Further the strength or
association significance is depicted by R² also called coefficient of determination, value varies from 0 to 1.

4.5. Path analysis

Path analysis is Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with a structural model, but no measurement model. It is
viewed as an extension of the regression model. It is depicted in a rectangle and arrow figure in which single headed
arrows indicate causation. In the current analysis, the correlation between variables is decomposed into the sum of
the direct and indirect paths connecting these variables. Therefore, the paths represent causal relationships between
constructs. The paths are PE – BI, EE – BI, FC – BI, HM – BI, TR – BI, SI- BI, IC – BI, FC – U, TR – U, IC – U
and BI – U. The path coefficients have been calculated with the correlated coefficients and regression coefficients
using excel. The R² value obtained was the same as that from regression analysis which indicates the correctness.
The details of the same are represented in Table 6 and Table 7 which illustrate the path computation for BI and
Usage. The final paths represented in Table 8 show how different variables affect the Behavioural Intention and
subsequently the usage of the technology. Subsequently, Fig. 2 presents the model of adoption for the Public WiFi.

Table 6. Computation of paths for Behavior Intention

Indirect impact Total

Direct Total
Variable Beta Indirect
Impact PE X1 EE X2 FC X3 HM X4 TR X5 SI X6 IC X7 Impact
Impact
PE X1 0.009 8E-05 6E-05 -1E-04 5E-04 5E-04 0 0.001 0.00216 0.0022
EE X2 0.021 4E-04 6E-05 -4E-04 0.001 0.001 0 0.0028 0.00559 0.0060
FC X3 -0.05 0.002 -0 -0 -0.003 -0.003 -0 -0.005 -0.01308 -0.0107
HM X4 0.155 0.024 5E-04 0.001 -0.003 0.012 0.01 0.0201 0.03690 0.0609
TR X5 0.161 0.026 5E-04 0.001 -0.003 0.012 0.01 0.0137 0.03365 0.0596
SI X6 0.108 0.012 2E-04 7E-04 -0.001 0.007 0.009 0.0089 0.02440 0.0361
IC X7 0.427 0.182 1E-03 0.003 -0.005 0.02 0.014 0.01 0.04193 0.2243
Total Impact (R square) 0.3784
Epsilon 0.6216
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Table 7. Computation of final for Usage

Indirect impact
Direct Total
Variable Beta Indirect
Impact FC X1 TR X2 IC X3 BI X4 Impact
Impact
FC X1 0.00600 0.00004 0.00010 0.00022 0.00042 0.00074 0.00077
TR X2 0.05100 0.00260 0.00010 0.00217 0.00325 0.00551 0.00811
IC X3 0.12100 0.01464 0.00022 0.00217 0.01032 0.01270 0.02734
BI X4 0.20500 0.04203 0.00042 0.00325 0.01032 0.01399 0.05602
Total Impact (R square) 0.09225
Epsilon 0.90775

Table 8. Path analysis

Paths P value
PE BI 0.002
EE BI 0.006
FC BI -0.011
HM BI 0.061
TR BI 0.595
SI BI 0.036
IC BI 0.224
FC U 0.001
TR U 0.008
IC U 0.03
BI U 0.06

Fig. 2. Model of adoption of Public WiFi

The multiple linear regression equation is expressed by Equation 3.

(3)

where is the dependent variable and are distinct independent variables. represents the value
when all independent variables have a value zero. Further, are representative of the estimated regression
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coefficients. The current study has two dependent variables namely BI (Behavioural Intention) and U (User
Behaviour). As expressed in the final model illustrated in Fig. 2 BI depends on PE, EE, SI, HM, FC, TR and IC
while U depends on FC, TR, IC, FC and the BI obtained.

5. Findings & implications for practice

This section focuses primarily on identification of factors influencing the use/non-use of Public WiFi followed
by highlighting the implications for practice. The factors of use are focused on age, gender, occupation, education,
income, ease of use, past experiences, frequency of use, ICT ownership, trust and security. The study does not
corroborate with the theoretical model when it comes to the characteristics of the people using Public WiFi.. The
significant part of the population of the respondents, below the age of 35 comprise of the major chunk of users for
WiFi services in public places. The Government intends to extend Public WiFi across India which is evident from
TRAI's notification highlighted in the earlier sections of the study. This includes the initiation of Google WiFi
across the Indian Railway network, provision of WiFi services at market places with high foot fall, Telecom
operators using 4G network for broadband and WiFi services. Thus, this study can be utilised by these stakeholders
to align product development, operations and marketing plans to ensure higher adoption of WiFi technology service.
The detailed analysis of the user characteristics is included subsequently.

The age of the user is an important characteristic driving the digital divide. The existing studies surrounding the
non-users of computer is indicative of the fact that age is a major criteria for non-use [8]. Since the rise of the
mobile technology and internet has been only in the last two decades in India, the people above the age of 50 years
who would have been actively using the internet technology at work or home still rarely use internet. However,
people having been exposed to the internet and mobile technology over the last two decades at work place or home
tend to use technology more often. Therefore, the younger people tend to use internet more than that of the older
people. The similar is true for the urge/need for using these services at public places. In addition to this, the gender
technology divide has many shades spreading over two ends of a spectrum [29]. In a country like India where in the
rural areas, men are still the head of the family and are the ones taking control over the family. On one end of the
spectrum are digitally illiterate women who use phones only for making voice calls and in certain scenarios
recognize numbers even by memorizing the pattern for dialling. On the other hand are working women who are
active users and even perform banking transactions through their smart phones. Therefore, gender again has a
significant role to play influencing the use of technology.

The internet is a source of information and the younger generation in particular utilizes it effectively. People with
better educational background use the resource for their benefit and needless to say their mobile data requirement is
higher. Further, whilst reading various news articles and blogs it was observed that people pursuing graduation tend
to use public WiFi during their journey to colleges or the ones provide by the educational institution. It can thus be
said that digital literacy and exposure to mobile data technology in addition to social network services drive people
to use wireless technology. Further, ICT has influenced the way people conduct their business and work [5]. The
services provided by various telecommunication organizations to connect with customers have led people to utilize
ICT, though the scope of use is limited. People working in organizations using ICT for the execution of day to day
work have larger exposure to these technologies. It can therefore be inferred that the occupation of a person and
their exposure to these wireless technologies at work influences the use in their personal lives beyond the work
environment. Apart from the above mentioned factors, the availability of mobile data services also play a key role in
determining the use of public WiFi. In an emerging economy like India where rural areas constitute of the real and
major chunk of the country, monetary aspects surrounding any product/service becomes essentially critical. The
mobile data services are priced by telecom companies based on the data utilization of the consumer. The prices also
vary based on the technology used for mobile data services i.e., 2G or 3G or 4G. The disposable income with the
consumer coupled with the need results the individual’s spending on mobile data services. This can significantly
affect the use of public WiFi services in the absence of mobile data services for the people who cannot afford the
same.

The industry expects every third Indian to own a smart phone by 2018 [30]. The ownership of smart phone is
expected to rise from 6.2 percent in 2013 to 20 percent in 2017. Studies also highlight that 16 percent of mobile
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Reema Aswani et al. / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2018) 000–000 9

users in India watched videos on their phones while 11 percent used social media apps [16]. The possession of the
required device is hence also considered as a determinant towards use of technology . The mobile hardware in the
smart phone and tablets consists of WiFi capability in addition to access to mobile data services. The ownership of
smart phones therefore can result in access to WiFi technology in addition to mobile data technology. Further, trust
is also an important factor that leads to access and use of a technology. Trust may be on the service provider of WiFi
or perceived security and usability to undertake transactions and provide personal details online. The consumer will
tend to trust a known brand like Google or a reputed telecom service provider for their technology services as
compared to a lesser known one making it a driver for adoption. The rise of online frauds and its frequent reporting
in the media has resulted in decreasing trust on use of WiFi technology by people who possess half knowledge. The
concern becomes even more critical when it comes to using distrusted Public WiFi networks. The concern can be
suitably identified in users reluctance to use public WiFi for certain transactions or disclosing personal information.

In addition to this, lack of skill set results in non use of a technology. People tend to develop a skill only if they
feel the need. The need may arise whilst they understand the ease of executing a task or through social interactions.
Similarly a mobile data technology user has to find the need to use WiFi and this can happen only when he/she finds
it advantageous to use the same over other. The WiFi technology is not new and has evolved over a few years. WiFi
as a technology has been used with the advent of broadband internet services especially at home. A person using
WiFi at home or using mobile data services is considered to have earlier experience. The experience of using this
technology beforehand raises expectations in an individual. In case a public WiFi lives up to the expectations in
terms of satisfactory services then the likelihood of adoption increases. The frequency of use of a particular
technology also indicates the levels or gradation of the use by an individual and it is observed that higher use leads
to faster adoption. These gradations of use directly reflect on the money spent on these services. Lastly, the ease of
use of any technology influences the attitude and behaviour of a user. It tends to enable a person to do more work in
the same effort and time duration. Ease of use tends to enhance usability of a product/ technology.

6. Conclusion

The study has been aimed to understand the adoption of Public WiFi using the conceptual model of UTAUT2
which uses various variables to explain the acceptance of technology. The analysis uses the data collected from a
structured questionnaire which uses the model variables along with personal details. The variables including
Facilitating Condition, Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Hedonic Motivation, Trust,
Individual characteristic, Business Intention and Usage are considered to be influencing the acceptance of Public
WiFi technology during the qualitative survey. A total of 257 responses were used to undertake the current study.
The statistical analysis of the responses has been undertaken in terms of reliability, validity, regression analysis and
path analysis.

The study reveals that high percentage of respondents had access to private and public WiFi and majority of
them use internet outside their home through their mobile devices. The respondents have accessed public WiFi in
several locations, predominantly whilst transiting i.e., railway stations, airports or places where in access has only
been used as a secondary means. The usages where people spend little time will have an inherent inhibition to
migrate from the ubiquitous services of mobile data. The aforesaid fact is clearly evident from the qualitative
survey. The regression analysis indicates relationship between the variables of Trust, Individual Characteristics,
Hedonic Motivation and Social Influence to be significant for deriving Behavioural Intentions. Further, Behavioural
Intention is considered to be mediating the usage of public WiFi. However, the strength of the relationship is
relatively low. Also, the results of the path analysis highlight the causal relationship between Trust and Individual
Characteristics although it seems to have relative prominence.

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