Electronic Government, An International Journal, Vol. 5, No.

1, 2008 1

M-government: technologies, applications

and challenges

Hong Sheng*
106B, Fulton Hall,
Department of Business Administration,
University of Missouri-Rolla,
Rolla, MO 65409, USA
Fax: 573-341-4812 E-mail: hsheng@umr.edu
*Corresponding author

Silvana Trimi
CBA 276,
Department of Management,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
Lincoln, NE 68588-0491, USA
Fax: 402-472-5855 E-mail: strimi@unlserve.unl.edu

Abstract: The emergence of Mobile Technology (MT) has enabled the

government to transform from Electronic Government (e-government) to
Mobile Government (m-government). This paper proposed a framework
based on the theory of Task-Technology Fit (TTF) to understand MTs and
their implications for m-government applications. Following the framework,
we reviewed current MTs, categorised e-government tasks and reviewed
and summarised existing m-government applications. To measure the degree
of fit between MTs and government tasks performed through them, and its
importance in the successful m-government implementation, we then discussed
the benefits and challenges of m-government.

Keywords: Mobile Technologies; MTs; Mobile Government; m-government;

Electronic Government; e-government; Task-Technology Fit; TTF.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Sheng, H. and Trimi, S.

(2008) ‘M-government: technologies, applications and challenges’, Electronic
Government, An International Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp.1–18.

Biographical notes: Hong Sheng is an Assistant Professor in the Department

of Business Administration, University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, USA. She
received her PhD and master degree from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her
research interests include mobile commerce and ubiquitous commerce, trust
and privacy issues in information systems and human-computer interaction.

Silvana Trimi is an Associate Professor of Management Information Systems

at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, USA. She received her PhD
in Management Information Systems from the University of Nebraska-
Lincoln. Her research interests include: internet-based organisational
innovation, e-business, u-computing, e-government, m-government and
knowledge management.

Copyright © 2008 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

2 H. Sheng and S. Trimi

1 Introduction

Mobile Technology (MT), which includes technological infrastructure for connectivity

such as Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Wireless Wide Area Network
(WWAN), and mobile information devices such as mobile phones, Personal Digital
Assistant (PDA) and laptop computers, has emerged as the next wave in IT revolution
(Varshney and Vetter, 2000). The number of mobile devices being used already exceeds
1.3 billion worldwide, resulting in a 20% penetration rate for the entire world population
(AlShaali and Varshney, 2005). It is predicted that the number of mobile phones
connected to the internet will exceed the number of internet-connected PCs in 2007
(Elliott and Phillips, 2004).
The emergence of MT is not only changing the way of conducting business, as
demonstrated by the fast growth of mobile commerce, but also enabling the
transformation of the way governments deliver their services (Sharma and Gupta, 2004;
Seeman et al., 2007). Since 1990s, public sector organisations across the globe, at both
local and national levels, have been applying the internet technology and other
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in innovative ways to deliver
services, engage citizens and improve internal efficiency, a practice commonly known as
Electronic Government (e-government) (Eyob, 2004; Lee et al., 2005). The explosion in
the use of MT has forced the governments to prepare themselves to transit from
e-government to Mobile Government (m-government). As an extension or supplement of
e-government, m-government is broadly defined as a strategy and its implementation by
the government to provide information, deliver services, engage citizens and improve
efficiency using mobile devices (Moon, 2004).
Prompted by advancements of MT and the demand for a more responsive
government, public organisations all over the world are trying to find ways to leverage
MT in providing services. Government agencies are using MT to promote rapid
information exchange within the government agencies and across the government
agencies, as well as between the government and citizens and businesses (Moon, 2004).
By migrating from traditional paper-based and face-to-face services and/or wired internet
access services to the wireless internet, m-government has the potential to provide
citizens with the fastest and most convenient way of obtaining government services.
Government agencies are also capitalising on MT to improve efficiency and effectiveness
of internal governmental processes. Field workers, customs inspectors, immigration
agents and medical, law enforcement and military personnel can all benefit from
accessing current data to make better, faster decisions (Sharma and Gupta, 2004).
In the USA, there is great emphasis on the application of MT by federal and
state governments. For example, among the 24 e-government initiatives that the Office
of Management and Budget’s E-Government Task Force has identified, wireless
applications are the prominent priority implementation goals (Chang and Kannan, 2002).
Other leading countries have also started to provide governmental services to their
citizens through wireless channels. With the new advances and wider diffusion of MT,
more innovative m-government applications are expected to emerge in the years to come.
Despite its great potential and positive expectations, m-government is still in the
infancy stage and its applications are limited. Governments are proceeding to m-
government applications with caution due to some issues, risks and concerns of using MT
(Moon, 2004). For example, most of mobile devices, particularly mobile phones, are not
suitable for the transmission of complex and voluminous information and do not have
 M-government: technologies, applications and challenges 3

equivalent features and services of wired internet access devices. Security is the biggest
concern in MT, which limits the types of information accessed and transactions
performed through MT.
Although there is a general agreement about the areas where MT can be effective in
government sectors (e.g. Lallana, 2004; Moon, 2004; Sharma and Gupta, 2004), very
little is known about how the government can best leverage the fast-developing MT
for the myriads of government services. Such knowledge is important, as it will help
the governments explore the opportunities (e.g. types of task that can be performed)
presented by rapidly developing MTs and determine successful implementation of
m-government applications. In this study we use theory of Task-Technology Fit (TTF) to
develop a framework for understanding MT and its implications for m-government
applications. The objective of this study is four-fold: (1) to propose a framework to
systematically analyse MTs and their applications in government sectors; (2) to provide a
review of existing m-government applications; (3) to analyse the level of fit between MT
used and tasks supported by the technologies in existing m-government applications and
(4) to present an in-depth discussion of benefits, challenges and some insights regarding
future directions of m-government applications.

2 M-government: an overview

M-government is the subset of e-government (Lallana, 2004) and is implemented by the

government to provide information and services to the government employees, citizens
and other organisations through mobile devices (Lee et al., 2006). E-government refers to
the strategic and systematic use of ICTs to promote efficient and effective government,
facilitate easy access of government information and services and make governments
more accountable to citizens (Im and Seo, 2005; Patelis et al., 2005). MT has extended
the internet from wired PCs to mobile devices through wireless communication channels;
therefore, the advancements in MT enables a natural transition from the era of
e-government to the era of m-government.
MT has two unique characteristics: ‘mobility’ and ‘wireless’. Mobility, the most
touted advantage of MT, is enabled by the use of mobile devices that are portable and not
restricted to desktops (Sharma and Gupta, 2004). Mobile devices typically include PDAs,
laptops, cellular phones, tablet PCs and Blackberries. Wireless refers to the method of
transferring information between a computing device such as a laptop or a PDA, and a
data source such as a government agency database server, without a physical connection
(Sharma and Gupta, 2004).
Comparing to wired technologies, MTs have some advantages. First, MT removes
time and space constraints by allowing access of critical information anytime and
anywhere, thus enhances capabilities for communication, coordination, collaboration
and knowledge exchange (Varshney and Vetter, 2000; Davis, 2002). Second, MT helps
decrease digital divide by removing infrastructure constraints, which is especially
important in countries with poor or non-existent wire infrastructure. Third, MT removes
cost constraint of possessing a computing device and accessing the internet, which
narrows the societal gap in information access.
4 H. Sheng and S. Trimi

3 A framework for understanding m-government

M-government extends e-government applications into mobile and wireless channels.

Despite the great potential and positive expectations about m-government, m-government
applications are still limited not only in terms of the types of services/tasks they
support, but also in terms of the usage of existing applications. The most common
m-government applications available include information retrieval and update by various
users, as well as issuing alerts by governments. However, transactions are still limited in
m-government applications. Such limited scope of m-government applications is due to
the limitations of still-evolving MTs. The user-interface of a mobile device (screen size
and keyboard) is still far from ideal, limiting the types of services offered. Other technical
restrictions are related to connectivity, such as low bandwidth and limited geographical
scope, limiting the speed of access, and the amount, type and scope of information
accessed. As mentioned earlier, security is one of the greatest concerns related to
communications through wireless medium. Clearly, at current stage of MT, not all
e-government applications can be offered on mobile devices via wireless networks. In
addition, users need to be convinced and motivated to accept and use these technologies
and services.
Prior research on technology innovation has pointed out the importance of fit between
information technologies and the tasks to be supported, as a precursor to technology use
and its subsequent benefits (Goodhue and Thompson, 1995; Dennis et al., 2001; Gabauer
and Shaw, 2004). TTF model, which was proposed by Goodhue and Thompson (1995),
suggests that a fit between the features and functions provided by the technology and
the tasks to be supported will result in better performance. Thus, when a new information
technology is introduced, the characteristics of the technology and the tasks that are to be
performed by the users should be considered (Klaus et al., 2003).
In the context of m-government, TTF suggests that a fit between the characteristics
of MTs and the government tasks they support must be ensured for successful
implementation of m-government applications. We propose a framework, presented in
Figure 1, as a means to analyse m-government. Based on this framework, we evaluate
the technologies used in m-government and categorise e-government services that can
be provided through MTs. We then summarise existing m-government applications and
discuss benefits and challenges of m-government applications based on the proposed
framework.

3.1 Mobile technologies

3.1.1 Mobile devices
Mobile devices are portable and can be carried around by individuals at any time and at
any place. Thus, ‘mobility’ is the key enabler of m-government applications. A mobile
device enables the citizens to get access to government information ubiquitously; it also
allows government personnel to access the databases and update information on the spot,
which is especially beneficial for field investigators. Some of the widely used mobile
devices are as follows:
 M-government: technologies, applications and challenges 5

Figure 1 A framework for understanding m-government

• Mobile phone can be used to connect to the internet through analog or digital
networks. A simple but useful service that has been widely accepted by mobile
phone users is the Short Message Service (SMS). SMS allows text messages
exchanged between mobile phones and other devices. A message is limited to
160 characters. SMS is one of the fastest growing services today and has become
a universal mobile data service. Statistics show that nearly 32 billion messages per
month were transmitted globally via SMS in February 2004 (Kumar, 2004).
• Smart phones refer to the combination of mobile phones and PDAs, which are
becoming increasingly popular as they are becoming less expensive. Smart phones
feature a great variety of functions in one device such as web surfing, video music
downloading, e-mails, map services and Global Positioning System (GPS). Other
features may include infrared and/or Bluetooth capabilities that connect the phone
to other phones or to PCs to share or synchronise data.
• Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are small-size computing devices that can
typically provide services such as embedded e-mail, calendaring, address book,
tasks and memo applications.
6 H. Sheng and S. Trimi

• Tablet PC is a wireless personal computer. A tablet PC is similar in size and

thickness to a notepad. It not only can function as a laptop or a PC, but also has a
touch screen which allows users to take notes on with natural handwriting using a
stylus or a digital pen. A tablet PC usually has a convertible screen that can be
rotated 180 degree to make it easy for writing on the screen. The user’s handwritten
notes, which can be edited and revised, can be indexed, shared and searched in the
future.
• Blackberry is a hand-held device developed by Research in Motion. The major
function of Blackberry is its wireless e-mailing capability but it can also be used
as a PDA that maintains personal calendar and address book. It can also be
configured for use as a pager and for internet access.

3.1.2 Wireless networks

‘Wireless’ refers to the method of transferring information between a computing device
and a data source without a physical connection (Sharma and Gupta, 2004). Wireless
networking technology is especially appropriate for situations where installation of
physical media is not feasible and/or on-the-spot access to the information is required
(Malladi and Agrawal, 2002).
There are five main categories of wireless networks: Wireless Internet, Wireless Wide
Area Network (WWAN), Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), Wireless
Local Area Network (WLAN) and Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) (Chen
and Nath, 2004). These networks are different in their coverage area, throughput (amount
of data that can go through per unit of time) and even users. WLANs, WMANs and
WWANs are used mostly for business applications, whereas WPANs and Wireless
Internet are used by businesses and consumers. All wireless networks, except WLANs
and WPANs, require the service of wireless providers. Table 1 provides a summary of
wireless networks and their characteristics.
• Wireless Internet has a global coverage, and consequently, it has the lowest
throughput of all wireless network categories. The end-users of Wireless Internet
include both consumers and businesses. It is the highest growth area of the wireless
industry. The current second-generation (2G) or 2.5G wireless network technologies
are effective in transmitting byte-size text and voice but cannot handle large amounts
of graphic-rich information. The advent of 3G and 4G wireless networks, currently
in use in Japan, Korea, Finland and the UK, allows transmitting content-rich
graphics, video and other information at a higher speed.
• Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) employs the same technologies used for
mobile phones. There are a few communication standards for WWAN, including
Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) and Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA). WWAN usually has limited bandwidth and restricted access to
the network.
 M-government: technologies, applications and challenges 7

Table 1 Summary of wireless networks

Coverage
Network Technology Description area Applications User fee
Wireless 3G and 4G Global Content rich Yes
Internet Video
Voice
E-mail
Internet access
WWAN Cellular Analog and digital National Voice Yes
networks that E-mail
transfer signals Text-messaging
along transmitters
WMAN WiMax A set or IEEE Building to Voice Yes
standards for buildings E-mail
wireless DSL/cable (30 miles) Text-messaging
(802.16) and mobile Internet access
access (802.16e)

WLAN Wi-Fi A set of IEEE In building Voice No

standards (802.11 or campus E-mail
standards) for (30 feet) Text-messaging
wireless LAN
WPAN Bluetooth Open wireless A few feet Synchronisation No
specification for (10 feet) Data exchange
personal area
network connection
in short range
(802.15)

• Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) is not widely used currently and there
is no nationwide WMAN service available yet. WiMax can connect users directly to
the internet from anywhere within a major metropolitan area. The technology seeks
alternate landline routes for disaster recovery and a possible relief from the service
of local-exchange carriers (airborne version of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or
cable-modem services). The other standard, 802.16e, offers mobile wireless access
from laptops and handhelds, analogous to a faster version of 3G telecommunications
technology (Wexler, 2005).
• Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) provides a wireless connection within a fixed
local environment. Each access point has limited connectivity of about 20–30 feet.
The two primary communication standards are 802.11a and 802.11b (also known as
Wireless Fidelity or ‘Wi-Fi’). Wi-Fi technology can be utilised to provide
applications such as voice, e-mail and text messaging through mobile devices such
as mobile phones and PDAs. Wi-Fi can be accessed at public places such as parks,
campuses and airports, where access points are available. These places are called
‘hot spots’ in the USA.
• Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) is primarily used to connect wireless
devices and accessories in a limited range. The primary standard for WPAN is
Bluetooth. It is an open wireless specification for personal area network connection
between devices within a ten-metre range of each other. Devices such as mobile
8 H. Sheng and S. Trimi

phones, PCs, printers and PDAs can be linked together to communicate and
exchange data through a special transceiver chip installed inside the device. One
major application of Bluetooth is to synchronise various devices, so that data entered
using one device can be shared with other devices. Another application is to
exchange data between different devices instantly.
• Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite navigation system used to determine
one’s precise locations. It is now being embedded in some mobile devices such as
mobile phones, PDAs and laptops, which can be used as a navigation aid in
identifying the holder’s position. This feature still needs to be explored and will
enable countless applications for private and commercial usage.

3.2 Categorising m-government tasks

M-government is the extension of e-government to mobile platforms. It is concerned
with the final delivery of e-government services to ordinary citizens, businesses and
government employees using mobile platforms. M-government services can be classified
based on the following criteria:
• Parties involved – m-government practices can be classified into four categories:
government to citizen (G2C), government to business (G2B), government to
government (G2G) and government Internal Effectiveness and Efficiency (IEE).
• Types of transaction performed – m-government practices are classified into three
categories: informational, transactional and operational functions (Norris and Moon,
2005). Informational functions include information publishing and updates and alert
messages. Government can provide general information through online publishing
and broadcasting. Government can also send government alerts to end-users,
proactively or automatically, through e-mails or SMS. Transactional functions allow
users to perform transactions, such as online procurement and payments, renewal of
permit/licences, voter and property registration, through mobile devices. Operational
functions refer to internal governmental operations. Government employees can
access important information on the spot and coordinate across government agencies
effectively in the field. For example, a policeman can search a suspect’s criminal
records from a laptop wirelessly connected to a remote database. Eventually, the
areas that have witnessed the most rapid growth in transactional m-government
applications are law enforcement and emergency and safety management, where the
reliability and urgency of information access are imperative needs of the mobile
workforce.

3.3 Current m-government applications

Goodhue and Thompson (1995) suggested that information systems have a positive effect
on performance if and only there is a match between their functionality and the task
requirements of users. The fit is the degree to which a technology assists an individual
in performing his or her portfolio of tasks. Systems that have higher TTF will lead to
better performance. The fit between the available MT and m-government tasks that end-
users perform by using them determines the success of existing and future m-government
applications.
 M-government: technologies, applications and challenges 9

Current m-government applications in the developed countries are focused mainly on

G2C and IEE applications. This is not surprising since these two are the driving forces
for m-government applications: greater number of citizens’ access in mobile devices
and internet and a large percentage of mobile government workforce. It is estimated that
at least 30% of the government workforce is mobile (Caldow, 2001), as governments
have a large proportion of their workforce involved in law and compliance enforcement,
transportation and logistics and health and social services. Such workers require
deployment of mobile applications that would help them perform their tasks by using
MTs at anytime, anywhere. In addition, when the mobile devices and wireless networks
reach a critical mass, citizens can interact with the government in an immediate and
real-time manner: they can access governmental services or information at any time from
any place, when and as it is needed. Governments can also communicate with their
citizens through wireless channels via mobile devices more efficiently and effectively
when the need arises (Sharma and Gupta, 2004).
Also, due to the early stage of MT and applications development, current
m-government applications are mostly informational (e.g. retrieving, sending and
updating information) and operational (e.g. remote accessing and updating of database by
government employees) rather than transactional. As the MT evolves, we expect to see
more transactional m-government applications and a greater usage of m-government.
Realising the potential benefits of using MTs to perform e-government tasks,
governments all over the world have started to introduce m-government applications
that their citizens and employees can use. In the USA, citizens in California can register
to receive wireless PDA or cell phone notification services for energy alerts, lottery
results, traffic updates and articles from the Governor’s pressroom (National Electronic
Commerce Coordinating Council, NECCC, 2001). In Canada, the ‘Government of
Canada Wireless Portal’ is an evolving project which enables the citizens to access
government information through mobile devices. Services and information currently
available include: Members of the Parliament contact information, border wait time,
economic indicators, passport services and the Government of Canada news release.
In the UK, the government is launching a national mobile e-government project to
develop and promote the adoption of MTs across local authorities. The project will
develop m-government services in two main areas: property-related reporting such as
reporting letter or graffiti and transactions with individuals such as health and social
worker interactions (Pearse, 2003). The UK Government is also considering using
mobile communications to make part of its public services electronically available (BBC
News, 2002). For example, it has implemented a mobile-tracking system that aims to cut
passenger waiting times for London buses. Metroline sends text message alerts to its
drivers, which instruct them to speed up or slow down to maintain more even intervals
between buses.
Current m-government applications, categorised into several groups based on tasks
and technologies they use, are presented in Table 2 and described as follows:
10 H. Sheng and S. Trimi

Table 2 Summary of MTs-enabled m-government applications

M-government
Categories Technologies applications Descriptions Countries
G2C Citizen SMS via The parking Send text Iowa, USA
(Informational) access to mobile phone day text messages to
governmenta service drivers,
l services or reminding them
information to mover their
cars on street-
cleaning days
and ‘opposite
side of the
street’ days
Wireless Notification California,
notification services through USA
PDA and cell
phone for
energy alert,
lottery results,
traffic updates
and articles
from the
Governor’s
pressroom
SMS alerts SMS alerts for Singapore
renewal of road
tax, medial
examinations,
passport
renewal
notifications
and season
parking
reminders
SMS SMS Malta
notifications notification
of court
sitting/hearing
deferrals,
licence renewal,
exam results
and direct
payments from
the Department
of Social
Security
Tax return Complete their Norway
tax returns by
text messaging
Wireless Government Citizens access Canada
Internet of Canada to government
wireless portal information
through mobile
devices
 M-government: technologies, applications and challenges 11

Table 2 Summary of MTs-enabled m-government applications (continued)

M-government
Categories Technologies applications Descriptions Countries
Emergency SMS via Blanket text SMS message Hong
notification mobile message to scotch fears Kong,
devices regarding emanating from China
SARS rumours about
intended
government
action to stem
the disease
SMS bomb SMS for London,
alerts emergency UK
alerts
FAA SMS USA
emergency notification
notification regarding
airport status
during
emergency
C2G E-democracy SMS via Lobbyist-in-a- Track the Virginia,
(Operational) mobile Box progress of bills USA
phones as they move
through the
legislative
process
Comment or SMS-based Philippine
complain services that
about allow citizens
government to ask for
officials or information or
services to comment and
complain about
government
officials and
services
SMS message Mobile phone China
to deputies owners can send
SMS to the
deputies of the
National
People’s
Congress
G2C GPS Mobile traffic Provide traffic Seattle,
(Informationa map map for USA
l/Operational) commuters
Cellular Enhanced 911 Locate Maryland,
emergency USA
callers using
cellular phones
Location- GPS and Logistics Track and US Air
based services handheld management dispatch drivers Force
devices
12 H. Sheng and S. Trimi

Table 2 Summary of MTs-enabled m-government applications (continued)

M-government
Categories Technologies applications Descriptions Countries
GPS and Incident Know the Turkey
internet situation specifics of the
access mobile units and
assign the nearest
mobile units using
GPS and do
online queries
regarding
identification and
record history
IEE Field Wireless Tax collection Enable the field Texas,
(Operational) inspection access to collectors to USA
database access taxpayers’
information
remotely and
document
collection
activities on the
spot
M-police Enable the Korea
police officers to
retrieve detailed
information on
missing vehicles,
drivers’ licences,
vehicles histories
and pictures of
suspects from the
server, by using
mobile devices
M-local tax Access to Korea
management information on car
taxes, obtain data
of delinquent car
taxes, and
immediately
transfer the data
into the local tax
database
Police services Access to South
database and Africa
critical
information
relating to a crime
on the site using
wireless
notebooks
 M-government: technologies, applications and challenges 13

3.3.1 G2C: informational

Citizen access to governmental services or information. Citizens can get access to
government services or information through wireless internet or SMS. SMS has been
widely adopted in various countries to provide citizens real-time governmental
information or alert of governmental services. For example, in the USA, 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 the
drivers avoid getting tickets (Miller, 2003). In Singapore, citizens can choose to receive
SMS alerts for a variety of e-services such as: renewal of road tax, medial examinations,
passport renewal notifications and season parking reminders. Citizens of Malta can
register to receive SMS notifications for court sitting/hearing deferrals, licence renewal,
exam results and direct payments from the Department of Social Security. In Norway,
citizens are given the chance to complete their tax returns by text messaging. Government
services have also been extended into the wireless internet through which citizens can
access using their mobile devices. For example, the Commonwealth of Virginia was the
first state in the USA to make its homepage and government information services
available on wireless internet; in July 2002, it launched My Mobile Virginia to give
citizens access to government services via PDAs and cell phones (Goldstuck, 2003).
Emergency notification. SMS can also be used as a means for the government to send
notification or broadcast to citizens during emergencies. For example, at the height of the
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) crisis, the Hong Kong Government sent a
blanket text message to mobile phones in a bid to scorch fears emanating from rumours
about intended government actions to stem the disease. In the UK, the London Police
includes text messaging in their alerting service options which can send alerts to
businesses in London about security threats, including bomb alerts. In the USA, the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sends notification to passengers during
emergency to inform them about real-time airport status.

3.3.2 C2G: opearational

E-democracy. MTs can also help improve citizen involvement and participation in
decision- and rule-making. Examples of e-democracy include the ‘Lobbyist-in-a-Box’ in
the Commonwealth of Virginia where the citizens can track the progress of bills as they
move through the legislative process. The bill status information is updated every hour
and users are notified of bill changes. In the Philippines, one-half of the cabinet agencies
have SMS-based services that allow citizens to ask for information or to comment and
complain about government officials and services. In China, over 400 million mobile
phone owners can now send SMS to the 2987 deputies of the National People’s
Congress.

3.3.3 G2C: informational/operational

Location-based services. Coupled with the GPSs, MTs are enabling government agencies
to provide some location-based services to citizens, or coordinate government workers
efficiently based on their locations. In Seattle, GPS is used to provide a mobile traffic
map to help commuters make a better drive-time choice. The Maryland County has the
enhanced 911 in its emergence communications system to help dispatchers and rescue
personnel locate emergency callers who use cellular phones. The US Air Force is
14 H. Sheng and S. Trimi

building a new wireless application to support logistics management. Using hand-held

GPS devices in each truck, the facility and drop-off point, wireless application can
pinpoint where each truck on the base is located, allowing the command to immediately
alert the nearest driver to make an unscheduled pick-up (Wexler, 2005). M-government
initiatives in Turkey are mainly concerned with maximising the efficiency and
effectiveness of law enforcement units. The mobile units are equipped with tablet PCs
which have GPS and internet access. GPS enables the central unit to check the specifics
of mobile units and assign the nearest mobile unit when there is an incident. The system
also allows mobile units to make online queries regarding identification and record
history.

3.3.4 IEE: operational

Field inspections. MTs can benefit field workers who are on the move and need to access
the database or information from outside the offices. This segment of workforce includes
police officers, traffic enforcement units and social workers. For example, the Texas
Comptroller’s office develops tax collection solutions which enable field collectors to
access taxpayers’ information remotely and to perform document collection activities on
the spot. In Korea, a project called ‘M-police’ has been implemented to assist police
officers in capturing suspects and finding missing cars. The project enables police
officers to retrieve detailed information on missing vehicles, drivers’ licences, vehicles’
histories and pictures of suspects from the server, by using mobile devices. The m-local
tax management system, another m-government project introduced in Uijeongbu and
Kunsan, Korea, can provide officers with access to information on delinquent car
taxes and immediately update the local tax database (Jeong and Kim, 2003). The South
Africa Police Services have embarked on a project to provide police officers mobile
access to databases and critical information relating to a potential crime from the site
(Goldstuck, 2003).

4 Evaluating m-government applications

Based on the framework proposed in this paper, we reviewed MT, categorised

e-government tasks and summarised m-government applications, which are classified
based on task performed and technology used. The framework proposed in this paper also
provides a foundation for analysing m-government applications, that is, to assess benefits
and challenges of m-government applications. We need to examine the fit between MT
and the e-government tasks that this technology can support. If there is a match between
the features offered by the technology and the tasks to be supported, governments can
benefit significantly from expanding e-government services into the mobile platforms.
On the other hand, a misfit between the m-government applications and MT, as well as
the limitations and drawbacks of MT, may pose challenges to expand e-government
services into m-government and successful implementation and usage of m-government.

4.1 Benefits of m-government

The most obvious benefit of MTs is the increased scope of delivery of government
information and services, both geographically and in terms of the number of people
 M-government: technologies, applications and challenges 15

served. Governments can reach a greater number of citizens regardless of the country’s
wired infrastructure or the citizens’ social status. This decreases the digital divide among
countries and social layers and benefits significantly to citizens and the government. MT
provides citizens with an immediate access to certain government information and
services, on anywhere and anytime basis. It also allows governments to send location-
and time-sensitive information, such as terrorism and severe weather alerts, to citizens
quickly and directly.
Second, m-government can increase efficiency and effectiveness of government
employees. With the help of MT, government employees can access the information
needed in the real-time manner and update records on the spot. This not only reduces
some burden of logistics, but also facilitates them to make informed decisions and
actions.
Finally, m-government opens up additional opportunities for citizen participation in
decision- and rule-making, thus promoting democracy. The easier wireless internet access
is at anytime and anywhere, and the cheaper the cost of using mobile devices, the greater
is the number of citizens to express their points of view to government officials, law
makers and community representatives. Citizens can be more empowered to discuss the
issues of concern, make decisions about factors that affect their lives, participate in
formulating and implementing policies and take actions to achieve the desired change.
These advantages are especially important in countries where ICT infrastructure is poor
or even non-existent.

4.2 Challenges of m-government

Although MTs have great potential for m-government applications, there still exist some
obstacles to their wide diffusion.
Security and privacy. Security and privacy have been considered as main barriers
to e-government (Norris and Moon, 2005). These two issues are more of a problem for
m-government applications (Sharma and Gupta, 2004). While all information on the
internet is subject to interception, wireless network signals are broadcast over the public
airwaves, making them more vulnerable to hacking and interception. Also, as mobile
devices are small and portable, they can be easily stolen or lost, putting the data stored in
them at constant risk of falling into wrong hands. Disclosing critical information such as
personal information and tax information on wireless internet makes citizens more
concerned of privacy issues in m-government. In addition, location-based information,
along with other citizens’ personal information available from traditional channels, poses
greater potential for invasion of citizens’ privacy.
Accessibility. The wireless network, at its infancy right now, has limited coverage
area. As government agencies pursue plans to provide access to government information
and services via text to wireless access devices, they should also facilitate the information
to be more accessible for all citizens via the web or other communication technologies
(Sharma and Gupta, 2004). The current speed of wireless web access is very slow and as
a result not many people use it. For example, in the USA, although 88% of cell phones
come with web-browsing capabilities, only 16.6% of these customers used their web
browsers to surf the internet (Sarker and Wells, 2003).
Usability. In spite of many advantages of mobility, mobile devices have a number
of inherent limitations such as: (1) small screens and small key pads, (2) limited
computational power and memory, (3) short battery life, (4) complicated text input
16 H. Sheng and S. Trimi

mechanisms, (5) higher risk of data storage and transaction errors, (6) lower display
resolution, (7) less surfing ability, (8) unfriendly user-interfaces and (9) limitations in
graphical capabilities (Siau and Shen, 2003). For any m-government application to
become a viable means of government service, usability is a necessary condition, that is,
m-government applications can be reached easily with minimum effort (AlShaali and
Varshney, 2005). If the device or website is difficult to use, citizens will be reluctant to
use m-government services, and government employees’ productivity will decrease due
to the time needed to get the work done. For citizens who are 60 years or older, they are
encountering more usability barriers on m-government sites due to vision, cognition
and physical impairments that are associated with the normal aging process. Therefore,
special care must be taken in order to improve usability of m-government websites for
senior citizens (Becker, 2005).
Application Infrastructure. This issue is two-fold: (1) e-government applications upon
which m-government applications are built and (2) different browser platforms for wired
and wireless internet access. M-government must be built on a sound e-government
infrastructure, that is, the backbone of digitalised government must be present to leverage
the mobile/wireless technologies for final delivery of government information and
services. Second, there are multiple platforms for mobile/wireless applications ranging
from Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and GSM to DoCoMo’s (Japan) I-Mode. A
plethora of platforms and the lack of standards raise concerns about the interoperability.
Currently, sites that want to offer mobile and PC access have to be programmed with
both HTML and WAP. Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML) may become
a new standard that will do the job with just one code.

5 Conclusions

This paper proposed a framework based on TTF to help better analyse how MT can
support government tasks. Following the framework, we reviewed current MTs,
categorised e-government tasks and reviewed and summarised existing m-government
applications. To measure the degree of fit between MTs and government tasks performed
through them and its importance in the successful m-government implementation, we
then discussed the benefits and challenges of m-government.
Currently, m-government applications are generally restricted to G2C and IEE,
and mainly support simple information exchange between government agencies and
citizens or facilitate uncomplicated operations performed by government employees.
Nevertheless, we do believe m-government has a bright future. With the ever faster
development in MT, more innovative m-government applications will become possible
and m-government will certainly move from the initial stage to the fast growth
stage resulting in widespread adoption and diffusion. To successfully implement
m-government, governments need to carefully monitor and analyse what the end-users
want and what will be their benefit from using m-government application.
 M-government: technologies, applications and challenges 17

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