The Mississippi government and Motorola have signed a contract

The Mississippi government and Motorola have signed a contract for the development and deployment of an interoperable emergency communications voice and radio network.

The project, titled Mississippi Wireless Information Network, aims at facilitating statewide seamless interoperable emergency communications coverage and will utilize 700 MHz of public safety network, which can be used by the state and safety agencies during the time of natural disasters, ensuring quicker means to save lives.

According to the system, an emergency official can use the radio to communicate information to the police department or an emergency operations center.

Motorola is shipping three rapid deployable Sites on Wheels to assist the Mississippi Gulf Coast area in the current hurricane time. SOWS will serve as a temporary communication system, until a permanent system is in place.

Motorola has also envisioned a rapid deployment and response plan that includes shipment of thousands of radios within 24 hours of a disaster, and also to dispatch tower crews overnight during emergencies.

In addition to leveraging the existing private and public infrastructure of the state, MSWIN is also interoperable with public safety communication systems in neighboring states like Arkansas and Louisiana.

Motorola will implement MSWIN in three-phased timeline by using Mississippi highway patrol (MHP) districts for guidelines. A total of 135 radio tower sites will be set up across the state.

Hungary Bids Online

Hungary Bids Online

The National Health Insurance Fund Administration of Hungary (NHIFA) has launched a Web-based bidding process system that will facilitate implementation of a safe, quick and reliable procurement process.

The medical manufacturing and pharmaceutical firms can now submit their price requests online, thus facilitating them to make the price public without incurring postal, printing and marketing costs.

Manufacturers will also have easy access to other related information from the website. This new system aims to encourage the use of electronic signatures in healthcare.

The certification package has been developed by a firm named Netlock Kft, which provides a chip card and a reader that can be used for administrative purposes.

The package also consists of tools and certificates which facilitate entry into the OWL bidding system (online Web service) that adhere to companies legal obligations concerning data provision.

Jordan Revives ICT

Representatives of the public and private sector of Jordan have chalked out a four-year strategy to revive the ICT industry and boost its competitiveness. In this direction, the ministry of Information and Communications Technology, along with Telecommunications Regulatory Commissions (TRC) and the Information Technology Association of Jordan have joined hands to chalk out the National ICT Strategy, which aims to increase the number of Internet users from the existing 11% to 50%, increase the number of jobs from 16,000 to 35,000 jobs, and double the $1.5 bn revenue by the year 2011.

The Jordanian government, with this time bound action oriented strategy, is looking at developing an environment that will push the growth of the economy, improve education and harness human resources.

Pay Online@Pavia

The Italian city of Pavia has launched a portal called ePavia which, in addition of providing information, will enable citizens to make online payment of taxes and duties.

Citizens, through their own secure and personalized client file, can access a range of e-Government services. The client file can be created by registering on the ePavia site. A host of online services like access to personal and fiscal data, official payment details and deadlines, and calculation of property tax are available.

The website, which has been developed by the egov@pay project and coordinated by the city of Milan, follows various levels of security, wherein one level of identification is through the user name and password that is registered in the central database, another level through the Smart Card, and the last one is a combination of the pin, user name and password.

Myanmar Connects Villages

The government of Myanmar, in cooperation with Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), is all set to implement the cyber village project to provide Internet facilities to every village in the country. A pilot project will be started later this year through the installation of the IP star phone.

Public access centers will be set up for which the government has sought financial assistance from the private sector. Power to Internet centers will be supplied either through batteries or solar energy as some remote villages face a shortage of electricity supply.

In order to strengthen the communication links, authorities have envisioned setting up 400 public Internet services centers across 324 townships.

To encouraging foreign investments into the region, the Government plans to grant separate plots under the cyber city project to both local and foreign entrepreneurs engaged in ICT business. These entrepreneurs will enjoy equal rights while developing the silicon mountain town.

In addition, Myanmar is also launching ICT development master plan under the Initiative of ASEAN Integration, and chalking out programs to link international networks.

Brunei Schools Go Mobile

The Ministry of Education, Brunei has embarked upon an information technology project to be implemented in schools. The project, Mobitel, will be executed at a proposed expenditure of $5.9 mn.

A total of 2,135 laptops will be distributed in the government primary and secondary schools. The students will soon enjoy the mobile and portable teaching aids.

Students and teachers will be able to access the Internet once the School Network Infrastructure Project is operational.

e-Legislation for Latvia

The Government of Latvia will embark upon a project to set up a legislative information system in order to bring about efficiency in the law making process, and also to encourage wider public participation.

The Ministry of Justice has come up with this proposal in order to lessen the unexpected changes in the legal framework caused due to mis-communication between the concerned authorities that play a vital role in the law making process.

The proposed expenditure for this project is estimated to be LVL 1.25 mn (about 1.79 mn). A single information system for the legislative process will be created and the people can also obtain electronic information on the legal acts, laws, draft laws and other important documents.

Estonia Expanding eNotary

With a view to speed up information exchange on notary transactions, the Ministry of Justice, Estonia has prepared a bill to expand the existing eNotary system. With digitization, the registration data will reach in less time. Other processes related to information by the concerned departments will also be easier.

The new system is expected to put an end to discrepancies caused due to human errors and facilitate smooth flow of information between the state database. The bill also states that the Chamber of Notaries will perform registration of wills instead of the Harju District Court.

Unique ID for the Dutch

Citizens of Netherlands will now be assigned with Citizen Service Number (CSN) that will help them to avail public services with much ease on one hand, and on the other will help authorities in easy identification of the individuals whenever an e-Government service is accessed.

CSN will not only bring about administrative improvement, but also enable quick sharing of data and curb fraudalent access of public services. The assigning of identification number also highlights the efforts of the Dutch government in making the administrative process transparent and citizen friendly.

Brunei Boosts Fisheries

The Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR), Brunei, has launched the e-Fisheries online services to increase efficiency of the fisheries department, and to reduce paper work

The project is a part of the eMIPR initiative to earmark 2007 as a year of improved public services and their role in contributing towards national development. An eMIPR help center has been set up in the Trade Information Center. Other help centers will be set up in other departments as well.

The launching of online services has further reinforced the realization of the departments vision of working towards Sustainable and Competitive Fisheries Contributing towards a Diversified Economy. Further, the business services will serve has single window that will integrate all services as required by entrepreneurs and investors. This will also create an atmosphere congenial for foreign investors and local entrepreneurs to create ventures within the countries so that they get the required licenses and services from the department.

Compiled by: H Chethana Gadiyar chethanag@cybermedia.co.in