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.
• M-government applications can help avoid problems faced by some countries, such as corruption