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Mobile Technology in Pacific Island Countries: the Potential for M-Government

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Achieving Sustainable E-Government in Pacific Island States

Part of the book series: Public Administration and Information Technology ((PAIT,volume 27))

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Abstract

The chapter focuses on the use of mobile phones in Pacific Island countries for government service delivery. The chapter argues that mobile telephone technology is worthy of attention in its own right, as compared to other technologies. This is because mobile phones have been transformational in the lives of Pacific people in ways computer-based technologies have not been, as most people have never had access to them; many do not have access to electricity or basic services such as banking, postal services and landline telephones. Despite limitations, such as small screen size, incomplete network coverage and limited data capacity , mobile phones are widely used in the Pacific. This chapter explores the extent to which mobile phones have played a role in e-government in the Pacific to date, as well as the potential for them to contribute in the future.

The original version of this chapter was revised: Authors’ affiliations have been updated. The correction to this chapter is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50972-3_15

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  • 08 January 2019

    The chapter focuses on the use of mobile phones in Pacific Island countries for government service delivery. The chapter argues that mobile telephone technology is worthy of attention in its own right, as compared to other technologies.

Notes

  1. 1.

    3G is offered over General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and its enhanced version EGPRS; 4G is offered over High Speed Downland Packet Access (HSDPA).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Amanda H. A. Watson

  2. Independent researcher, formerly at Divine Word University, Madang, Papua New Guinea

    Joseph Kim Suwamaru

  3. National University of Samoa, Apia, Samoa

    Ioana Chan Mow

  4. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Sarah Logan

Authors
  1. Amanda H. A. Watson
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  2. Joseph Kim Suwamaru
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  3. Ioana Chan Mow
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  4. Sarah Logan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amanda H. A. Watson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Rowena Cullen

  2. School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Graham Hassall

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Watson, A.H.A., Suwamaru, J.K., Chan Mow, I., Logan, S. (2017). Mobile Technology in Pacific Island Countries: the Potential for M-Government. In: Cullen, R., Hassall, G. (eds) Achieving Sustainable E-Government in Pacific Island States. Public Administration and Information Technology, vol 27. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50972-3_5

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