There's no rest for the weary. Although the public sector has begun to absorb recent advances in technology, such as voice over IP and service-oriented architectures, the stage is being set for yet another revolution. Wireless mobile devices are beginning to free citizens and government workers from the chains to their desks, and promise far-ranging impacts on economies and geographies.
In Canada, telecommunication companies and service providers are planning their evolutionary steps for unleashing Internet-enabled 3G cell phones and next-generation wireless networks. But it will take time before these all-in-one handhelds are ubiquitous, says Robert Forget, chairman of the Wireless Innovation Network of British Columbia (WINBC).
"Personally, I don't think this will happen before 2012 in Canada," he predicts.
So the public sector has some breathing space to plan for the next wave of change. There are many programs and initiatives under way to take advantage of wireless opportunities to reshape the machinery of government.
In February, Saskatchewan unveiled the country's largest Wi-Fi network, offering Internet services in Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Regina and Moose Jaw, to a population of one million spread over a geography of 660,000 square kilometres.
Wireless technology is the invisible glue needed to connect everyone, says Richard Murray, executive director of IT policy and planning at the Province of Saskatchewan.
"We believe wireless will supplant wired technologies in about four years, so that's where government needs to be in the future."
The Wi-Fi initiative was a response to issues identified at the Youth Summit held in Saskatoon to solicit young people's feedback about ways to make the province more attractive, says Murray. Participants emphasized the need for wireless and other advanced technologies.
"We're thinking laptops, but our young people are thinking iPods, satellite radio and a whole new array of devices."
New technologies will play a big role in developing the economy and retaining people, he says. Seeing few opportunities, many young people leave Saskatchewan for the boom-towns of Alberta.
"However, we've seen a shift in the past two years with folks returning as Alberta acquires more big-city problems," says Murray, noting Maritime provinces such as New Brunswick have had similar experiences - and have used technology to create economic opportunities back home.
"We have a number of advantages here: small-town life, inexpensive cost of living, beautiful environment," he says. With the rise of teleworking, it will soon become unnecessary for people to leave to get jobs or start businesses. "We intend to enhance our urban capabilities and make our cities more tech-savvy by putting the infrastructure in place for this."
Living the future now
The province is involved in a number of creative wireless initiatives, adds Murray. The University of Regina, for example, is conducting research on water monitoring in cities. "This involves testing water levels in advance of floods and communicating that information wirelessly to communities."
The University of Saskatoon is also conducting research on monitoring bridges and other infrastructure using the municipal Wi-Fi network.
"Instead of using RFID, we can use custom-built devices that are less expensive."
In New Brunswick, there are also initiatives under way to support provincial mandates by extending wireless capabilities, says Danny Keizer, CIO for the province. The legislature was one of the first places where wireless was installed. "It allows elected officials to remain in touch with their constituents during lulls in House proceedings," he says.
The province also recently put out a tender for a public safety wireless system that's based on Project 25, a new set of standards for digital radio communications that enables a range of emergency workers at all levels of government to communicate.
"This will have both voice and data communications, and is effectively a replacement system for four separate province-wide systems that were antiquated, voice-only systems," says Keizer.
In addition, the province is involved in a creative project to equip ambulances with automated vehicle location (AVL) capabilities.
"RFID works well in stores where you're trying to do a predictable thing all the time, but not in this application," he explains.
AVL instead uses a modem that sends identification and location information from a GPS chip installed in the ambulance.
"In order to do AVL, you can also transmit other data. The communications capabilities in AVL haven't been fully exploited yet - you could send direct data about the patient's condition as well as the location all on one channel.
"The number of applications that wireless can be applied to is almost limitless, says Keizer. "Capturing information at the point of service improves the level we can provide. Virtually anything done in the office can be done in the field."
Wireless at work
The Ontario government is involved in an ambitious initiative to streamline the workings of 13 ministries that deploy an army of field workers to conduct audits, inspections and other compliance-related activities.
"We are the umbrella group for all those ministries, which includes the Ministry of Labour, Transportation, Natural Resources and so on," says John Stager, ADM for Inspections, Investigation and Enforcement business transformation.
"Our role is to look at ways we can work together."
This is an area where governments can reap enormous tangible and intangible benefits from wireless tools, he says.
"If staff spend more time in the field instead of going back and forth to their offices, generating mounds of paperwork, ultimately what this does is increase the level of protection to Ontario's citizens," he says.
"And being able to analyze the front-end information coming in as data, instead of paper files, opens up so many levels of efficiency."
Continued: Necessary tools for workers
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