Closing the Digital Divide with SMS

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Closing the Digital Divide with SMS
Using iTex Developed by Kirklees Council
for Nomad Presented by Terence Hudson Richard
Hurst
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What can SMS do for your Authority?
Some SMS Facts and Figures SMS stands for Short
Message Service. SMS was first used in the UK
in 1992. SMS became popular with the advent of
Pay as you Go. 45 Million mobile phones in the
UK. (Source www.w2forum.com) 100 Million SMS
messages sent each day. (Source MDA)
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What can SMS do for your Authority?
What are the benefits of SMS to a local
authority? Efficient Low cost delivery compared
to traditional methods. Instant Mobile instant
messaging to citizens or staff. Guarantee
Delivery notifications show message is
received. Income Improve recovery of
debt. Engagement Engage with hard to reach
groups. Consultation Alert citizens of
forthcoming topics of interest. Emergencies
Alert staff and citizens in case of emergency.
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What can SMS do for your Authority?
Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing Good effective
communication makes all the difference to good
arrears recovery. (Colin Hallas, Kirklees
Neighbourhood Housing) Messages sent to tenants
mobiles or land lines. Tenants are comfortable
with using SMS technology. SMS cheaper than
typical calls made using voice. SMS instrumental
in achieving 85 response rate. SMS considered a
good way to initiate the recovery process.
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What can SMS do for your Authority?
Preston City Council SMS has proved very
popular for locals wishing to find out about
events. (Tourism Manager, Preston City
Council) SMS is being used to get citizens to
VisitPreston.com Citizens request visitor guides
using SMS. Citizens subscribe to event alerts
using SMS. Events are publicised to subscribers
using SMS. Citizens provide Preston Tourism with
their interests.
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How can SMS be used to empower citizens?
What are the benefits of SMS to the
citizen? Choice Another way to access council
services. Convenience Access on the move,
without interruption. Accessibility Easy access
to citizens who are deaf. Involvement
Especially for young people our future decision
makers. Availability 45 million users in the
UK.
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How can SMS be used to empower citizens?
Kirklees Chatback When did you last see a young
person without a mobile phone? (Jim Fitzpatrick
MP) Chatback encourages young people to have
their say on local issues. Chatback provides
info on events, life advice, education and
careers. Chatback initially had 150 subscribers
via an advertised web site. Subscriptions rose
ten fold when made available using SMS. Chatback
has been recognised nationally for engaging young
people.
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How can SMS be used to empower citizens?
Kirklees SMS4Deaf The Deaf community wanted SMS
messaging and in response Kirklees Council now
meet their needs in an instant, quick and simple
way. (John Parker, Kirklees Deaf Services)
SMS4Deaf is a free text messaging
service. Text Kirklees on any council service
matter. Deaf services team receive and reply to
texts using email. Except O2 Customers
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How can iTex deliver all this for so little?
What is iTex? An SMS Toolkit which is available
to all the public sector. Developed for and
funded by the Nomad national project. Send SMS
messages from the iTex client, email or any
application. Receive SMS messages and delivery
notices. Automatically reply to SMS
messages. Route SMS messages to email,
applications and web pages. Deliver SMS based
voting.
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How can iTex deliver all this for so little?
How does iTex work? iTex comprises of clients,
XML web services and an SQL database. iTex sends
and receives messages via an internet provider
using XML. iTex has a web based user client for
sending and receiving messages. iTex has a web
based admin system to manage users, accounts, and
rules. iTex web services manage the sending,
receiving and routing of messages. iTex SQL
database, stores all your messages, rules, and
users.
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How can iTex deliver all this for so little?
iTex Interactive Demonstration
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How can iTex deliver all this for so little?
How can I get iTex? iTex is now available in two
flavours iTex Lite or iTex Corporate. iTex Lite
is an internet hosted solution provided by
Kirklees Council. iTex Lite costs 350 to setup
and 500 per annum service charge. Consultancy
days are available at 360 per day. Long number
line rental costs 12 / month, and messages cost
5.5p each.
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How can iTex deliver all this for so little?
How can I get iTex? iTex Corporate is a software
product for installation on your own
systems. iTex Corporate installation costs 1440
and includes training. Consultancy days are
available at 360 per day. Long number line
rental costs 12 / month, and messages cost 5.5p
each.
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How can iTex deliver all this for so little?
Where will SMS be in the future? If you want to
know the future ask your kids. (John Naughton
Observer)