Dubai joins GSMA Smart Cities Index

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) On the sidelines of the two-day conference 'Connected Living Middle East Summit' GSMA, executive director of Smart Cities, Transport and mAutomotive, Connected Living Programme, Shane Rooney in an exclusive interview to Khaleej Times, said: "Dubai's government has put special effort to become a smart government, making Dubai very strong in mPayments, mGovernment Services and mTransport." The emirate has been selected to join the index as it records 74 per cent smart phone penetration and a global leader in Smart Mobile Services-Payment, Mobile Apps and Infrastructure-Connected Transport. Launched in June 2013, The GSMA Smart Cities Index assists cities, ICT and mobile companies and citizens. Amongst the cities who are already in the Index list are San Francisco with 70 per cent smart phone penetration, New York City with 55 per cent, Barcelona with 74.4 per cent, Amsterdam with 67 per cent, Berlin with 51 per cent, Helsinki with 55.9 per cent, Singapore with 70 per cent, Hong Kong and Shanghai 66 per cent and Seoul with 75 per cent. Rooney further explains: "The mPay app allows residents to pay government bills and fines via smartphones. Available for Android or iPhone, users can pay police fines, utility and telecom bills, road tolls and public transport fees through their smartphones. The mPay website enables customers to pay for social services and manage auto-payment and multiple accounts. For the mGovernment services, Dubai Smart Government has created many mobile solutions including mobile apps, mobile payment gateways, a dedicated mobile portal and a mobile SMS gateway." "MDubai integrated app provided services such as news of all Dubai government entities, bill inquiry service, prayer timings, status inquiry, access location maps of more than 1600 locations of important service providers in Dubai, access information on all Dubai government entities and the channels of communication with them, submit feedback and complaints, etc," he explained. "And under the mTransport - Dubai operates a world class metro and public transport system with smart Nol cards and smart apps for easy travel and updated information, while apps from Dubai Municipality provide street views and GPS locations. In addition with a simple swipe of a phone, riders can board whatever service they desire via NFC (Near Field Communication) enabled mobile phones," Rooney noted. The summit is organised every six months and is a market development intiative whose mission is to help mobile operators innovate and stimulate services. According to research, it is forecast that there will be 25 billion connected devices by 2020 and a global business impact of $ 4.5 trillion. Rooney, said: "The conference in Dubai focused on Smart Cities, mAutomotive, mEducation and mHealth as there is so much activity in Dubai that GSMA wants to unlock opportunities and bring global experience to the region."