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Bangladesh links village-level govt units to the Internet Bangladesh has launched Rural Information Service Centres to connect villages via the Internet to give ordinary people the benefits of information technology. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
Wazed opened the Union Information Service Centre (UISC) for 4,501 local government units across the country. The centres will provide all government forms, public notifications and
citizen service
connectivity
Brunei’s MoD signs infrastructure network contract
The Housing Development Department of the Ministry of Development in Brunei has signed an infrastructure network contract with Dinamik Giat Trading Company, with the objective of making housing development services more accessible to the general public through an e-Government network. The e-Government project is meant to enhance the infrastructure network that will connect the Housing Development Department headquarters with the department’s branches using EG Bandwidth technology.
gazettes, birth and death registration information, passport and visa support, information on public examinations, new jobs, laws, health, agricultural, and disaster management among others.
These centres will also provide commercial services and social services to the residents. All unions, the lowest rung of local government, are now linked to the Internet.
World Bank proposes ICT infrastructure program for Cariforum member countries
The World Bank has presented a program that would support initiatives for improved information communication technologies within the Caribbean Forum of African Caribbean and Pacific States (Cariforum). It is titled as the Caribbean Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (Carcip). Carcip is designed as a broad umbrella program to include all Cariforum member states. It will be anchored within the Caribbean Community’s ICT agenda and will be closely coordinated with the Carib-
bean Knowledge and Learning Network, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organisations, the Caribbean Telecommunications Union, the International Telecommunications Union and other initiatives in the region. Among the proposed objectives are to increase access and affordability of broadband communications networks within the region and countries; contribute to the development of the regional IT industry; and contribute to improved government efficiency and transparency through the delivery of e-services, including e-government and e-society applications. The World Bank’s lead IT specialist has said that following a formal expression of interest by a Cariforum member state, the Bank would field a team of experts to design the country program.
security
Bahrain’s e-Gov Authority gets ISO certified
The island country of Bahrain has become the first country in the Middle East to win an International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) certification in the e-Government sector. The e-Government Authority (EGA) has been awarded the Information Security Certification - the international standard for protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data. The assessment and certification was awarded by Belgium Group Bureau Veritas, which specialises in auditing, testing and certification licensing.
power management
Ericsson to deploy LTE smart grid for EnergyAustralia As part of an agreement between Ericsson and EnergyAustralia, Ericsson will design and integrate a multi-vendor wireless access network based on LTE technology that will enable two-way communications between electrical control devices, back-end systems and households. The network will be rolled out across
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150 sites in New South Wales in Australia. This will be part of Australia’s leading smart grid rollout and will transform EnergyAustralia’s electricity network into a smarter, greener and more efficient network. The telecommunications network will transmit data between 12,000 smart monitoring
egov / www.egovonline.net / December 2010
devices being installed on the electricity distribution network, up to 3,000 mobile field computers, and 200 zone sub stations. EnergyAustralia will conduct trials of an LTE platform commencing in 2011, with the intent to migrate to a full LTE network. Under the agreement, Ericsson will provide equipment,
software and services, leveraging the Melbourne-based Ericsson Global LTE Competence Centre and its expertise in network design, planning and integration. EnergyAustralia was
recently chosen by the Australian Government to lead the Smart Grid, Smart City demonstration project to test Australia’s first fully integrated, commercialscale smart grid.