Effective use of mobile communication in E-Government: how do we reach the tipping point?

This paper investigates what is needed to make the mobile phone a more effective tool for the interaction between government and governed. Recent studies have shown that a significant proportion of the UK population have no intention of accessing the Internet; however, it is reported that there are more web-enabled mobile phones than there are PCs in the UK. Mobile phones may thus offer the most viable electronic channel through which to encourage large-scale take-up of online public services. Although people have integrated mobile phones into their everyday lives, we argue that unless there is a substantial change in social practices the much heralded ‘m-government’ will take a significant amount of time to become a reality. Despite these ongoing challenges, mobile technologies offer huge potential to represent mainstream government/citizen interaction. The paper will draw upon case studies of best practice from around the world to investigate the emerging ways in which large-scale usage of this type of government/citizen interaction can be achieved.