Dubai eGovernment launches 'pull' SMS service on '4488' to allow mobile users to seek information from departments

This innovative offering is part of Dubai eGovernment's mDubai service that aims to deliver messages via mobile phones, PDAs or the Internet.

Dubai Civil Aviation, Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality and Dubai Development Board have already joined the service to offer flight information, flight information tracking, traffic fines update, projects inquiry and transaction reference inquiry respectively. In order to ask for specific information from any of these Government departments customers can send an SMS with a keyword and parameters to one number, 4488.

"mDubai is a service that leverages the increasing popularity of mobile phones to build communication channels with the people. As SMS is today one of the most effective ways of communication in both business and personal life, Dubai eGovernment is pleased to offer a quick and efficient way of seeking information from government departments by sending a simple SMS message to a single number. Our state of the art technology will ensure that the message is sent to the respective department and the caller gets an instant reply over his mobile," said Salem Al Shair, Director of eServices, Dubai eGovernment.

All systems are in place to allow mobile phone users to get specific information from the participating departments. From Dubai Civil Aviation, customers can obtain flight information, including arrival and departure flight schedules. They can also do Flight Information Tracking, in which they will receive updated information of a flight status, for example is the flight delayed or cancelled, expected time of arrivals and departures till the end of the status. Mobile phone users have to type the message 'Fi' followed by the flight number for Flight Information and 'Fit' followed by the flight number for Flight Information Tracking.

Information on Dubai Police traffic fines can be obtained by keying in 'Fine' followed by Car plate number, Car Type and Car Code. Customers can inquire about traffic fines and receive information on the total number of tickets and the amount payable.

Customers of Dubai Development Board have to send the message 'Proj and the project number' to get information on project inquiries. They can inquire about expected time for completion, location and land number.

For Dubai Municipality's transaction reference inquiry, the message 'Dmchk' followed by reference number has to be sent to the common SMS number, 4488. Customers can ask information about the status of a transaction, pertaining to approval, receipt, payment details, and so on.

"The launch of the new pull SMS service underlines Dubai eGovernment's commitment to diversify the channels of public interaction and use channels other than the Internet," said Al Shair. "The mobile phone has become an inseparable tool for most people and it is logical to use its popularity to enhance the efficiency levels of e-governance. The mobile phone offers convenience, immediacy and accessibility. We are confident that the public will welcome this service whole-heartedly because of its many attractive features."

"The advantage of the pull service is that the customer gets the requested information and not irrelevant messages. We would like to commend the participating departments for the efforts they have made in putting together the information package with the end-user in mind," said Al Shair.