The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the UAE has revealed the progress made in establishing the first ever Electronic Federal Network (FedNET), which will provide high speed connectivity between e-government systems.

The network will connect all federal institutions in a way that raises efficiency and reduces costs. It will also help achieve a faster transition to smart government.

Upon official completion of the implementation process, FedNET will provide IT services within a collaborative and secure environment in order to meet the needs of the public.

"This project falls in line with the wider UAE mGovernment Initiative and seeks to create the necessary national infrastructure to enable the provision of all government services via mobile platforms,” said Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, mGovernment director.

He explained that all UAE government entities will collaborate to enhance levels of service delivery. “These efforts are also focused at making the best use of modern technological advancements to serve the UAE citizens, residents and visitors,” he said.

“FedNET will provide a shared database and a secure electronic hosting service. Both are required to complete the full integration of the various entities that form the UAE government through one central mobile network and integrated website,” added Al Mansoori.

“The giant leap from e-government to smart government confirms the UAE’s growing stature and showcases the sincere efforts being made by its leadership to ensure sustainable progress,” said Saeed Belhoul, director, e-Government Operations.

“This electronic connectivity project further establishes the concept of unified access and will allow all customers to access their personal accounts at various government entities using the same user name and password” he added.

This project is divided into two main phases. Firstly, building the network’s technical center and secondly, rolling out the pilot exercise measuring connectivity. “Both these phases are expected to be accomplished during the last week of October this year, and we look forward to finalizing the entire project of connecting the 42 federal entities by end of July next year,” said Belhoul.

The project implementation has started in the beginning of 2014 and is expected to be completed over a period of 18 months.

FedNET is one of the initiatives falling under the mGovernment transformation roadmap which focuses on establishing shared resources across various UAE Government entities.

In addition to FedNET, the project includes additional services including interconnectivity, digital identity, payment channels, cloud services, Trusted Service Manager and Mobile Innovation Center. – TradeArabia News Service