Obama orders agencies to make services available via mobile phones

English.news.cn   2012-05-24 04:09:59            

     

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday issued an executive order requiring government agencies to make services available via mobile phones, as part of a larger effort to shift to a more "future-ready," mobile approach.

Under the new order, each federal agency will be required to make two "key government services" available on mobile devices within the next 12 months. Steven VanRoekel, Obama's chief information officer, will be in charge of implementing the new directive.

"Americans deserve a government that works for them anytime, anywhere, and on any device," Obama said in a statement. "By making important services accessible from your phone and sharing government data with entrepreneurs, we are giving hard-working families and businesses tools that will help them succeed."

The administration is also working to make government data more easily accessible to the public to spur entrepreneurs to create new services and mobile apps, ultimately boosting job creation.

"We're living in an increasingly mobile world and it is critical that the federal government keep up with the way the American people do business," Obama said.

Mobile is rapidly becoming the platform of choice for Americans; it is now anticipated that by 2015 more people will be accessing the Internet via mobile phones than via traditional desktop computers.

Obama also announced the start of a new program that will bring outside innovators into government for "tours of duty" as Presidential Innovation Fellows. U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park will oversee the program, which will begin with the aim to make consumer-friendly government information about health, education, energy, safety and personal finance more accessible to all Americans.

These two initiatives are part of the administration's more comprehensive digital road map that's being announced Wednesday. The "Digital Government: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People" strategy requires agencies to set up websites to provide online resources for outside developers, and make government information open and machine-readable by default.

"Ultimately, this strategy will ensure that agencies use emerging technologies to serve the public as effectively as possible," Obama said. "As a government, and as a trusted provider of services, we must never forget who our customers are -- the American people."

Editor: Mu Xuequan