Mobile government, sometimes referred to as mGovernment, is the extension of eGovernment

EGovernment

E-Government is digital interactions between a government and citizens , government and businesses/Commerce , government and employees , and also between government and governments /agencies...

 to mobile platforms, as well as the strategic use of government services and applications which are only possible using cellular/mobile telephones, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and wireless

Wireless

Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...

 internet infrastructure.

Proponents of mGovernment argue it can help make public information and government services available "anytime, anywhere" and that the ubiquity of these devices mandates their employment in government functions. An example of such beneficial use of mobile technologies would be the sending of a mass alert to registered citizens via short message service

Short message service

Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...

, or SMS, in the event of an emergency.

To quote mGovernment theorist and proponent Ibrahim Kuchshu, "As e-business evolves towards m-business, eGovernment seems to follow the trend with a few but significant mobile government (mGovernment) applications."

Benefits of mGovernment

Mobile Government can 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" (Kushchu and Kuscu, 2003)

• cost reduction
• efficiency
• transformation/modernization of public sector organizations
• added convenience and flexibility
• better services to the citizens
• ability to reach a larger number of people through mobile devices than would be possible using wired internet only

Issues with mGovernment

• wireless and mobile networks and related infrastructure, as well as software, must be developed
• to increase citizen participation and provide citizen-oriented services, governments need to offer easy access to mGovernment information in alternative forms
• mobile phone numbers and mobile devices are relatively easily hacked and wireless networks are vulnerable because they use public airwaves to send signals
• many countries have not yet adopted legislation for data and information practices that spell out the rights of citizens and the responsibilities of the data holders (government)

External links

• Mobile Government Consortium Int. — Resources on Mobile Government
• M-Government.info — Research and resources on Mobile Government
• International Conferences on Mobile Government — m-Government conferences in Europe, America and Asia.
• M-government services in Russia:news, reports, analysis
• http://www.mgovworld.org - Knowledge portal and repository on mobile government developments. The portal is jointly managed by practitioners and stakeholders from India , Europe and USA