Puca, a mobile messaging and data services provider, commissioned research company Amarach Consulting to undertake the survey of Ireland's mobile phone users, almost half of which said they would be interested in communicating with the government and public sector departments using their mobile phones. "We were surprised by the results," said Eamon Hession, managing director of Puca, speaking with ElectricNews.Net. "Particularly with the statistics which said that 48 percent of people find it easier to send SMS rather than e-mail."
Respondents in the 15 to 24-year-old age group were particularly emphatic about text messaging with 61 percent saying they find this medium more convenient than e-mail.
Of those surveyed 48 percent mentioned that they would be interested in receiving text message reminders such as NCT tests, driving tests and hospital appointments from the public sector. Another 48 percent said they would like to be able to request information from the public sector via text message.
The survey also revealed a considerable interest in being able to vote by text messages on a number of public interest issues. Varying degrees of interest were detected across the age groups with 55 percent of those in the 25 to 34-year-old age group saying they would embrace this option, compared to 35 percent in the 35 to 49-year-old age bracket; 29 percent in the 50 to 64-year-old group; and 41 percent in the 15 to 24-year-old demographic.
"In spite of the controversy over electronic voting, many people still regard electronic media -- especially text messaging -- as a valid medium for expressing their views and opinions," said Hession.
In light of these figures, Hession believes that Ireland has "all the ingredients in place" to become a world leader in m-government. "We must act quickly on this in order to develop leadership," Hession said. "This is a great opportunity to make a mark on this sector following our disappointing performance in the area of broadband."
Puca is already moving in this area, in July of this year it signed a deal with the Department of Agriculture to provide it with a mobile application solution to record livestock numbers. The company has also run a number of initiatives with the Department of Health, Bord Bia and the Food Safety Promotion Board. The company plans to target this area in the coming year with a number of new initiatives to be announced in 2005.
Autor: Matthew Clark
Quelle: ElectricNews.Net, 10.12.2004
