Dr Amanda H. A. Watson
Department of Pacific Affairs
ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
Dr Amanda H.A. Watson is a Research Fellow at the ANU Department of Pacific Affairs.
Her research focuses on digital technologies in the Pacific. Her expertise includes undersea internet cables in the Pacific Islands region, as well as telecommunications in Pacific countries.
Dr Watson has a particular interest in mobile telephone uptake and use in Papua New Guinea (PNG). She looks at the roles of mobile telephones in service delivery and development in rural and urban areas. She is also interested in how mobile telephones are used during emergencies and natural disasters.
Dr Watson follows regulatory issues such as mandatory SIM card registration and proposals for the taxation of telecommunications. Dr Watson is also commencing research on mobile internet prices and mobile internet speeds. Her PhD thesis looked at the uptake and use of mobile telephones during the earliest days of adoption in PNG.
In addition to her expertise on digital technologies, Dr Watson has an interest in media freedom and closely follows developments in PNG that may impede or improve media freedom.
Her work was been published in various academic journals, as well as book chapters, blog posts and newspaper articles.