Obama orders agencies to shift services to mobile application

WASHINGTON | Wed May 23, 2012 12:00pm EDT

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama, hoping to spur U.S. innovation in the explosive field of mobile communications, on Wednesday ordered all major federal agencies to make many more of their services available on mobile telephones within the next year.

"Americans deserve a government that works for them anytime, anywhere, and on any device," Obama said in a statement.

His administration has sought to hasten government adoption of new technology since running a 2008 election campaign that was widely praised for the innovative way in which it deployed the Internet and social media to marshal grassroots supporters.

The presidential order tells each agency to make at least two services relied upon by the public available on mobile telephones within 12 months.

What this means in practical terms is a massive expansion in public access to government data, from healthcare and education to energy and public safety, which the administration hopes will boost jobs along the way by encouraging innovation.

"The initiatives we're launching today will make government data resources even more accessible to the public and to entrepreneurs who can turn these data into services," said U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park.

The Obama administration also released a new digital strategy on Wednesday that it said would drive a more efficient and coordinated delivery of federal services on mobile devices.

This will require agencies to set up websites to provide online resources for outside developers, and make government information open and machine-readable by default.

"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 president said.

(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Jackie Frank)