3.8 Network sharing

1. Introduction

People are increasingly using smartphones and other devices for recording, analysing and reporting on local information. It is common for this information to be shared via email, on social media or on websites, but this requires Internet access. However, many community members do not have access to the Internet, or when Internet access is possible, this can be expensive. In addition, some community members may prefer not to upload local information onto the internet for security and privacy issues, and may instead prefer to only make this information available to others living within their locality.

People can share information from device to device without the need for Internet access using Bluetooth. However, this does depend on two devices being in close proximity. Another major limitation of using Bluetooth for sharing information is that there is no central repository of the information that is easily and quickly accessible by everyone.

The Bluetooth symbol that indicates that a device has Bluetooth capabilities