Report urges agencies to use more wireless technology

Government agencies should encourage their employees to use personal digital assistants and other wireless devices as part of a long-term plan to incorporate more wireless applications into their e-government initiatives, according to a new report released Tuesday by the IBM Endowment for the Business of Government.

The report, authored by professors from the National Defense University's Information Resources Management College and the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, recommended that federal, state and local governments provide their employees with basic training in the use of wireless technologies.

The report also recommended that agencies launch pilot programs to provide citizens in geographically remote areas with better access to government services.

But the report cautioned that privacy and security features should be improved before wireless applications are broadly deployed for that type of "government-to-citizen" use.