Batelco and the government's Central Informatics Organisation (CIO) signed a memorandum of understanding, which defines Batelco's role in providing state-of-the-art communications technology. It was signed by CIO Under-Secretary Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatalla Al Khalifa and Batelco chief executive Tony Hart at the Gulf International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Gulf Hotel.
The benefits of the agreement include a reduction in cost of local calls between government ministries and organisations, a national email for every citizen and support to people to use their new Smart Card at Batelco customer service centres and shops.
Batelco will be working on the e-government initiative with the CIO, the body that runs central government computer systems and infrastructure.
CIO is responsible for regulating information technology within the government and for optimising the use of the Government Data Network (GDN) that forms the backbone of the e-government initiative.
GDN is a good example for a successful story that CIO and Batelco both can be proud of , said Shaikh Ahmed.
"GDN, which has developed into one of the most advanced networks in the world, already links all Bahrain government ministries, irrespective of platform, to deliver government-wide financial management and human resource systems as well as government wide email and Internet access," he said.
Batelco is committed to supporting the CIO's moves to modernise the e-government environment and set-up a common framework to meet current and future communication needs, said Batelco chief executive Tony Hart.
The key principles of the e-government project include integrating Bahrain's back-end systems, such as a National Database, Immigration and Central Population Register (CPR) systems, Decision Support systems, Customer Relationship Management and introducing Smart Cards and Security Control systems.
The benefits of this project to Bahrain and its economy are numerous, including improved service levels, reduced time and cost in serving businesses and residents, said Mr Hart.
One significant benefit will be greater operational efficiencies between government departments and external organisations.
Bahrain is the first country in the Middle East to implement MPLS (multi protocol label switching) technology, said Batelco deputy general manager - strategic government segment Isa Abdul Rahman.
"We are committed to developing and continually enhancing the GDN using the latest knowledge and skills," he added.
"The CIO and Batelco will be sharing data across all aspects of the project to ensure the best solutions for Bahrain are developed."
Under the agreement, Batelco will develop Internet protocol (IP) telephony for the government, which involves enabling the GDN to interconnect all the core ministries and government organisations by voice, using the MPLS GDN, which will cut the cost of intra-governmental local calls.
Smart Card
All Batelco's customer service centres and shops will also support the new Smart Card that will be issued to people in Bahrain next year.
This card will carry all essential information including identification, population data, driving licence, health details and an e-purse.
Batelco will also provide solutions to enable government employees to have access to government-related information and systems through a variety of channels, such as home, laptops and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Shaikh Ahmed said the issue of increasing Internet penetration in Bahrain would be addressed, because it is a key in the success of the e-government project and Batelco is the key player in this.
In addition to assigning an email address to every citizen and resident in Bahrain, the viability of setting up e-commerce solutions for the different government departments via Batelco's secure@Itijara system will also be explored.
This system is a payment gateway allowing online transactions through a variety of channels including the Kwikserve network, Internet, mobile phone and interactive voice response (IVR). Batelco is always keen to support projects important to the Kingdom's development and this e-government initiative is key to promoting Bahrain as a growing regional centre for finance, commerce and professional services, commented Mr Hart.
Quelle: Gulf Daily News, 16.11.2003
