Capt'n' Snooze IT manager Lionel Van Niekeir said that although the benefits "are obvious", local wireless infrastructure is still in its adolescence, and is stymied by the divide between metropolitan and regional areas.

"The Australian network is weak because it is rather new, and the country is so large. Resources are stretched, particularly in regional areas where [connectivity] switches to GPRS...which is painfully slow, often slower than dial-up," he said.

"International roaming is another big drawback [as the] cost is ridiculous, and the speed is pathetic.

"In New Zealand we pay around NZ$100 (US$61) for 5Mb of bandwidth, over a slow connection.

"The technology is great overall, as long as you remember to turn off international roaming!"