India, for example, has introduced e-payment for
some governmental services to avoid corruption
and bribery [ 1].
• M-government increases efficiency and effectiveness of government employees. With the help of
m-technology, government employees can access
the information needed in real time and update
records on the spot. This not only reduces some
burden of logistics and decreases data entry errors
but also facilitates employees to make informed
decisions and actions.
Finally, m-government can open up additional
channels for citizen participation, thus increasing constituent participation. Communication through
mobile devices encourages citizens to make use of the
technology to express their points of view to government officials, lawmakers, and community representatives.
M-GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES IN THE LEADING
COUNTRIES
Promoted by demands for a more responsive government, governments all over the world have recognized the potential of m-technology and are
exploring the potential utility and feasibility of m-government. However, m-government development
worldwide has been uneven. This is attributed to
two factors: the development level of e-government
and m-technologies. M-government is a value added
of e-government and therefore it will be more
advanced wherever a solid foundation (
e-government) exists, for example, in developed countries.
Second, m-technologies are quite advanced (such as
3G wireless), cost-effective, and widely used in the
developed countries. Because of the relatively lower
cost (compared to income) of owning and using a
wireless device, the percentage of people that own
and use wireless devices in developed countries is
much higher than developing ones (in Hong Kong
for example, mobile penetration is 125%). New
important technological advances, such as WiBro
(wireless broadband) service recently introduced in
South Korea, and a greater variety in both platform
(different types of devices) and functionalities (
convergence of different devices, such as smart phones),
have increased the number and types of services that
end users in these countries can utilize. Consequently, while m-technology can help remove infrastructure challenges and present tremendous
opportunities for the development and growth of m-government in less-developed countries, m-government applications are prevalent in the developed
countries. Thus, we will focus our discussion of m-government practices in the following
regions/countries.
North America. In the U.S., m-government projects have proliferated. Virginia has been a leader in
implementing m-government applications. Its “My
Mobile Virginia” was the first wireless state portal in
the nation that made government services available via
mobile and wireless devices [ 7]. It offers a variety of
downloadable information on handheld devices
including emergency weather conditions, legislative
information, lobbyist lists, election notices, tax-related
information, and tourism information.
Text messages have also been used by government
agencies to communicate with citizens. For instance,
the Parking Day text service in Iowa sends text messages to drivers reminding them to move their cars on
street-cleaning days and opposite side of the street
days. These reminders can help drivers avoid getting
tickets. “My California on the Go” was introduced in
July 2001 as a way for citizens to receive immediate
updates on energy warnings, traffic jams, state lottery
results, and press releases from the governor’s office.
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is used to
provide the Mobile Traffic Map in Seattle to help
commuters make better drive-time choices using a
small-form-factor device. The traffic map covers 176
miles of the area’s major freeways and provides instantaneous information on traffic slowdowns, traffic
lights, and traffic flows.
In Canada, the “Government of Canada Wireless
Portal” is an evolving project that enables citizens to
access government information using mobile devices.
Services and information currently available include:
members of the Parliament contact information, border wait time, economic indicators, passport services,
and Canadian government news releases.
The large number of mobile government work
forces such as those involved in law and compliance
enforcement, transportation and logistics, and health
and social services, depend on deployment of IEE and
G2G mobile applications. Police officers can be
equipped with mobile devices to access databases,
issue tickets, check vehicle registrations and license
tags, among other things. Examples include Wi-Fi
networks in San Francisco, CA and Lincoln, NE
where police officers have in-vehicle access to a variety
of broadband applications such as crime databases,
record-management systems, and traffic-video feeds.
Field inspectors can also benefit from IEE applications using mobile devices to check inspection results,
issue violations on the spot, print inspection reports,
and transmit inspection information wirelessly to the
agency’s database. The GPS system can track a work-