M-Government

Programme Objective

The m-Government programme is a three-year programme to drive the delivery of services through the mobile channel. The programme aims to achieve the following objectives:

a)  To deliver innovative services via the mobile channel that were not feasible with the Internet channel or counters;

b)  To make Government e-services more accessible to a wider customer base and increase convenience for those who need to transact on the move.

Programme Details

The m-Government programme seeks to:

a)  Ensure a coordinated approach to accelerate the implementation of mobile services (m-services);

b)  Ensure cost effectiveness in the deployment of m-services;

c)  Drive the implementation of m- services and the deployment of enabling central infrastructure for m- services.

Key Strategies

The m-Government is supported by two key strategies:

(a)      m-Services Implementation by Agencies

Implementation of m-services falls under 2 main categories:

(i) Implementation of new services that do not have an internet equivalent today and are feasible for delivery over the mobile channel;

(ii) Provision of existing e-services at the “Interact” & “Transact” level via mobile that are feasible for delivery over the mobile channel.

(b)      Implementation of Central m-Service Initiatives

To facilitate the development of m-services, as part of the m-Government enabling strategies, the following initiatives would be driven centrally:

- Single SMS number for all new m-services, and a standardised, simple and easy to use format to access SMS based m-services;

- m-Service Directory to aggregate all government m-services so that customers can find government m-services easily;

- Shared central repository of mobile numbers to facilitate agencies’ deployment and personalisation of m-services;

- Shared m-service enabling infrastructure e.g. m-payment services, m-authentication services, m-publishing services.  Where possible commercially available services and infrastructure would be leveraged upon instead of developing and owning new government infrastructure.

- m-Government Education to equip our public officers with the relevant knowledge and skills to actively participate in the m-government projects.

Benefits

Benefits for Customers

(a)      Increased Customer Satisfaction

M-Government offers us the unique opportunity to deliver personalised services to our customers.  Personalised alerts and notifications can be sent to customers in a timely manner.

In addition, Government agencies will be able to reach the desired customers wherever they are, whenever they need to use the service.

This will provide more convenience for our customers and enhance overall service quality and customer satisfaction.

(b)      Lower Transaction Costs

Transacting over the mobile channel may result in lower transaction costs for the customer.  The internal efficiency gains (e.g. from dispensing away with the paper notifications, mailing of letters, admin costs) by delivering the service over the mobile channel can translate into cost savings for the customer.

For example, LTA’s Easi ERP m-service charges $4 for the transaction fee if a motorist pays via the mobile channel for the outstanding cash card violation.

However, the customer would have to pay $10 if the transaction was done via the counter or $8 via the internet payment mode.

Benefits for Agencies

(a)      Internal Efficiency Gains

M-Government can also increase the efficiency of our Government agencies in the delivery of services to the public.  For example, MINDEF has leveraged on the mobile channel for more convenient and effective service delivery to NSmen.

With eCallUp, NSmen will receive SMS and email alerts to inform them of call-up notice, instead of receiving a hardcopy notification via the mail.  This approach dispenses away with the hardcopy notification (SAF 100), reduces both costs of printing and mailing for MINDEF and improves the turnaround time to notify the NSmen.