SmartBrowse: Design and Evaluation of a Mobile Data Price Transparency Tool for Mobile Web Use
Venue
Information Technology and International Development, vol. 11(1) (2015), pp. 21-40
Publication Year
2015
Authors
Nithya Sambasivan, Paul Lee, Greg Hecht, Paul M. Aoki, Maria-Ines Carrera, Jenny Chen, Michael Youssefmir, David Cohn, Pete Kruskall, Everett Wetchler, Astrid Twenebowa Larssen
BibTeX
Abstract
Mobile data use is on the rise globally. In emerging regions, mobile data is
particularly expensive and suffers from a lack of price and data usage
transparency, which is needed to make informed decisions about Internet use. To
measure and address this problem, we designed SmartBrowse, an Internet proxy system
that (1) shows mobile data usage information and (2) provides controls to avoid
overspending. In this article, we discuss the results of a 10-week study with
SmartBrowse, involving 299 participants in Ghana. Half the users were given
SmartBrowse, and the other half were given a regular Internet experience on the
same mobile phone platform. Our ªndings suggest that, compared with the control
group, using SmartBrowse led to (1) a signiªcant reduction in Internet credit spend
and (2) increased online activity among SmartBrowse users, while (3) providing the
same or better mobile Internet user experience. Additionally, SmartBrowse users who
were prior mobile data non-users increased their web page views while spending less
money than control users. Our discussion contributes to the understanding of how
ICTD research with emerging technologies can empower mobile data users, in this
case, through increased price and usage transparency.
