IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

It’s hot in Washington, so the White House must be fending off congressional attacks on e-government.

In each of the past five summers, legislators have cut allocations to the governmentwide E-Government Fund—by a total of more than $87 million—and placed restrictive riders on certain spending bills. But this year, the cuts are among the harshest agencies have seen and could stall the Bush administration’s effort to modernize and consolidate agency IT systems.

In Arizona, the corridor follows three highways and spans 487 miles, long portions of which lack reliable cellular and landline service. In April, however, the state started a pilot that will allow first responders to communicate on a Wi-Fi network along a 30-mile stretch of the highway. The network could also bring some much-needed technology to schools in rural areas along the corridor.

As Wichita health care providers move toward paperless work environments, the security of private data is paramount to successful systems.

Yet electronic health records are surprisingly easy to hack into and are vulnerable to exploitation, according to a study by the eHealth Vulnerability Reporting Program.

According to a company statement, WiCity is a free city wide wireless network, which allows users with wireless capable devices such as PDAs or laptops to access the Internet free of charge. Cities can offer free Internet access at zero cost, stimulating growth and improving the quality of life for citizens. WiCity will also allow cities to set up separate channels for emergency dispatches, city workers, or field crews producing additional communication savings.

Having campaigned and won the presidency on a platform of changing the way government does business, President-elect Barack Obama is facing high expectations for making the inner working of his administration open and accessible to the public.

With a looming $721 million budget shortfall, Hawaii has been desperately searching for viable solutions to streamline public services. The 10-member Task Force on Reinventing Government was established by the Legislature to identify government weak spots and find ways to increase productivity and efficiency.

A report accompanying the 2010 Veterans Affairs Department spending bill, which is awaiting full Senate consideration, calls on the department's CIO to certify a number of beleaguered information technology projects in order for them to receive funding.

"The allocations of these funds are a significant win for the awardees, and for the greater broadband wireless industry. But more than that, the real big winners here are the consumers in rural communities who will benefit from affordable broadband services via WiMAX," said Ron Resnick, president and chairman of the WiMAX Forum.

WiMAX-related applicants requested $1.6 billion of the $14.2 billion available for last mile deployments. WiMAX technology can bring 4G broadband services to rural areas, which are usually the last priority for wireless carriers. Rural broadband development will help bring economic gains to underdeveloped areas by bringing non-farm related jobs to the market. It also allows for such digital services as eGovernment, distance learning, and remote healthcare.

The WiMAX Forum, an industry group promoting the adoption of the new technology, returned to the SuperComm trade show this week to host demonstrations of member companies’ products.

Three federal agencies are moving forward on a major wireless project that could test law enforcement's ability to work together and industry's ability to present a solution based on tough requirements.

With consumers in Asia and Europe already using their mobile phones to pay for soda and parking fees, the long-discussed concept of the wireless wallet could be slowly creeping closer to reality in the U.S.

The provider of consulting services will help the department and the governor’s eHealth Board complete a project to design “a model and architecture for a state-level HIE entity and state-level HIE business and technical services in Wisconsin,” according to the RFP.

Miszewski, who works within the Department of Administration (DOA) after the Department of Electronic Government was folded into that agency, also said the Center for Economic Development (CFED) missed the mark on some existing electronic government projects in the state when it gave the state a rank of 46th when it comes to electronic public services.

A press conference was held this afternoon to announce our area will receive $11 million in federal grant money to improve communication services. The money will be used to lay fiber-optic cable to connect local government, schools and public safety.

"We currently do a lot with video distance learning, some with online learning, we've been limited in the past by the amount of work we can do because of the lack of bandwidth," says Ross Wilson, CESA 10 Director of Education Technology. "This will give increased bandwidth to a number of school districts."