How can the government use mobile technology?

One way to take advantage of the mobile technology's potential is through the concept of m-government. In loose definition, M-government is largely a matter of getting public sector IT systems geared to interoperability with citizen’s mobile devices. The authorities must have the capability to use each other's data so that citizens, companies and case officers do not have to provide special interfaces and interoperability standards. It means that the information is to be transferred seamlessly and securely. In this regard, common data definitions and coherence in the handling of security and users is highly recommended.

M-government is in its early stage of development and may be defined as a strategy and its implementation involving the utilization of all kinds of wireless and mobile technology, services, applications and devices for improving benefits to the parties involved in e-government including citizens, businesses and all government units. M-Government is an emerging discipline concerning the rise of advanced mobile and wireless communication technologies that would improve the QoS that government services offer to citizens. Lack of standards and optimized data exchange protocols in mobile and wireless environments inhibit the potential of m-government.

Some identified problems to the successful implementation are:
* Infrastructure development at a satisfactory level
* Mobile payments infrastructure and customer trust
* Privacy and security
* User friendliness
* Legal issues
* Interoperability and compatibility/ standardization with data exchange standards (like XML)
* Flexibility and scalability

At the moment there are several IST projects that treat the issues of m-Government in different fields. The Policy-based Security Tools and Framework (POSITIF IST-2002-002314) project concentrates on development of a suite of security tools. One of the objectives is the development of a lightweight security module (for workstations and mobile devices) to protect them against network attacks, make them part of the security system and permit secure download of new configurations. The enabling users for - Distance- working and Organizational Mobility using Ambient Intelligence service Networks (EU-DOMAIN IST-2002-4420) project will develop a new, innovative European ambient intelligence service platform for context sensitive offering and contracting of mobile web services across heterogeneous networks. The EU-DOMAIN service platform will interconnect people, devices, buildings and content in an interoperable network[2].

Sources:
1)http://www.mgovernment.org/resurces/euromgov2005/PDF/5_R368AL.pdf
2)IST Official web site (2005), http://www.cordis.lu/ist

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