Business | Emiratisation
Mobile users to gain full access to mGovernment services by 2010
Mobile users are expected to gain full access to mGovernment services by 2010 once citizens fully understand and use these services, a senior industry official said on Wednesday.
- Staff Report
- Published: 00:38 March 20, 2008
Dubai: Mobile users are expected to gain full access to mGovernment services by 2010 once citizens fully understand and use these services, a senior industry official said on Wednesday.
mGovernment services offer mobile phone users access to online government services and information, providing quicker and easier access.
"By 2010, the Middle East can expect eGovernment services going mobile and providing citizens of the region with immediate access to a range of services such as trade and industrial support, national healthcare, visa and immigration applications and local government community support," Osama Ghoul, managing partner of Devoteam Middle East and an expert on information and communication technology (ICT), said.
"It's quite likely that citizens could use their mobile phones to pay for traffic and parking charges without the need for a computer, saving time and effort for communities and businesses at large."
Devoteam Middle East has extensive experience in eGovernment consulting including work for the governments of Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
"As eGovernment is improving services for citizens, businesses and even other government departments, it's important to look at how these services can and already are evolving towards mobile use as mobile phone penetration vastly outstrips computer penetration in the Middle East. It's rare to see someone without a mobile phone but less common to see someone with a laptop."
"However, there are important milestones that must be achieved beforehand to see these services ready by then. The most important is public education, acceptance and identification with eGovernment services and how these can improve peoples' daily lives," Ghoul said.
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