Communications - May 2008

E-government, which refers to the use of wired-Internet technology by public-sector organizations to better deliver their services and improve their efficiency, has achieved significant improvements through the deployment of many innovative applications and thus it has become a global phenomenon [ 5]. Based on the segment served, e-government practices can be classified into government-to-citizen (G2C), government-to-business (G2B), government-to-government (G2G), and government internal effectiveness and efficiency (IEE). Based on the type of transaction performed, e-government functions are categorized into: informational, transactional, and operational. Informational functions provide access to governmental information through Web portals, including online publishing and broadcasting. Transactional functions allow citizens to interact with government agencies via the Web such as online procurement and payments. Operational functions refer to internal governmental operations that focus on internal efficiency and effectiveness of operations and the interoperability across different e-government practices at different levels [ 5].

Citizens use government Web sites as central points of access to government information and services across different agencies and they normally do so via wired Internet access. In general it is the end users who are the initiators of transactions that involve e-government services. There are two technological challenges to widespread adoption and implementation of e-government. First, on the provider’s side (government), technological infrastructure needs to be built to support the transformation to e-government [ 5]. Second, on the end user’s side, there exists an inherent inequitable access to e-government services due to the digital divide among demographically, economically, and socially diverse groups of population within a country as well as among different countries.

M-government is an extension or supplement of e-government. M-government is the strategy and its implementation for providing information and services to government employees, citizens, businesses, and other organizations through mobile devices [ 6]. M-technology has emerged as the next wave in the IT revolution as its advantages come from two unique characteristics: “mobility” and “wireless.” Mobility is the most touted advantage of m-technology. Mobile devices, typically including PDAs, laptops, cellular phones, tablet PCs, and Blackberries, free users of physical ties to the desktop. The “wireless” characteristic of m-technology refers to the method of transmitting information between a computing device and a data source without a physical connection. In recent

years there has been a phenomenal growth in the use of mobile devices due to several factors including: low cost of the devices, the only infrastructure choice for many undeveloped/developing countries, changes in lifestyles, and increased functionality. According to eMarketer data, the number of wireless Internet users will surpass the number of wired users by the end of 2007, with 56.8% of all Internet users connecting wirelessly.

M-technology enables location-based services (LBS)—personalized services delivered to a mobile device user at a remote location. Since a mobile device is usually used by one user who carries it at all times, it also provides the “identity” of the user thus making it a venue for personalized services and/or for track-ing/identification. The direction of communication flow for m-devices can be truly two ways, as compared to typically one way (user-to-government) for wired devices. These unique features/advantages of m-technologies increase the opportunities for governments to provide more, better, and different types of services to citizens.

M-government is value-added e-government because it offers the following advantages:

• It improves the delivery of government information and services. Citizens can get immediate access to certain government information and services on an anywhere-anytime basis. For governments, they can use the scalable and swift wireless channels to send time-sensitive information, such as terror and severe weather alerts, to citizens quickly and directly.

• M-technology may be the best solution to overcome Internet connectivity problems and digital divide issues faced by e-government applications. Unlike wired technologies, m-technologies have been more evenly distributed among different layers of society and are growing faster in economically and technologically challenged nations [ 4]. M-technology helps remove infrastructure constraints for countries with poor or nonexistent wired infrastructure. For example, in Africa, cell phones accounted for 90% of all African phone subscribers in 2007.

• Compared with wired networks, wireless networks appear to be a more cost-effective choice for countries with dense populations and difficult terrain. For example, Macedonia will build a Wi-Fi mesh network that will cover 1,000 square miles of difficult terrain and its service will reach more than 90% of its population for a planned price of $12 a month.