Recognizing the environmental difficulties many Alaska residents face each day, the state is moving quicker than most states to help out with Web-based, service-oriented government services.
"Early on, we took the philosophy that we needed to fundamentally change government, being such a geographically diverse -- and dispersed -- state," said Mark Badger, Alaska's chief technology officer. "We have a huge state, and we have thin communications lines."
Alaskan roads and air routes are also limited, making "routine" communications a lot less routine. Many communities are located far from the major population centers. "In the Arctic Circle you can fly 1,000 miles and still be on your way to some remote community," Badger said.
With about 700,000 residents spread over an area the size of California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas combined, Alaska faces a unique problem compared to most of the lower 48 states: How does government provide effective service to its people, and how do the residents access, use and provide feedback to the government with all of Alaska's environmental and geographical barriers? "We knew that contact between citizen and government was critical," Badger said.
At the same time, Alaska -- like most other state and local governments -- is trying to get the most bang for its technology buck. "Everyone is trying to make government fast, right, cheap and easy," said Badger, a former university professor who has served as Gov. Tony Knowles' chief technology officer for the past three-and-a-half years.
Transitioning to a Web-based Government
A series of forward-thinking strategies contributed to the state's technology plan of providing more business-like services in an electronic-commerce environment.
In 1995, Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer, chair of the state's telecommunications information council and an online advocate, mandated that all material created for the
public be made available online. More than three years later, that task is essentially complete, and it created the basic framework and content for the state's information-rich Web site.
Later, the Information Technology Group, a department of the state's Division of Information Services, created a template-based Web site for each state agency, and every department and division within the regulatory bodies, oversight councils and legislative offices. Once that project was completed in late 1996, responsibility for maintaining and expanding the Web site was up to the individual offices. That required several state workers to be retrained, and it ultimately led to the consolidation of the state's data centers early last year when it was determined that too many efforts were duplicative.
While many states use the Internet to provide some level of service to residents and improve communications, most use flashy graphics and technologies to attract tourists and businesses. This is not the case in the land of the midnight sun, where a significant portion of computer users connect to the Internet using satellite technology, often limited to 14,400 Kbps data-transmission speeds.
Without the benefit of extensive fiber-optic phone lines and Ethernet networks, Alaska Web surfers must endure slower download times. "We had to be very bandwidth conscientious," Badger said of the site's design process. "We used very few graphics, and, when we did, they were engineered to be bandwidth conservative."
The site also offers a text-only version, which is becoming a rarity as commercial Web sites scramble to employ Java applets on everything.
No Car Needed for This Trip
The crown jewel of Alaska's Internet services is the online vehicle-registration renewal and personalized license-plate program, a unique concept that means residents don't need to go to their local Division of Motor Vehicles.
Residents with a current license and registration may log on to the site, fill out a form and perform a secure credit-card transaction to pay any fees or fines. Residents may also order personalized license plates by searching for available combinations and even viewing a mock up with different background styles.
Ron Hensley, Alaska's chief of computer services, said he had two to five people working on the DMV registration-renewal project. It took about five months to complete at a cost of $320,000.
Badger said the state could save a tremendous amount of money by conducting more transactions online. The traditional DMV registration renewal process cost the state $7.50 per transaction to handle the paperwork. The online procedure costs less than $1 per transaction, he said. Currently, only about 2 percent of those with registered vehicles have used the online option, but with more than 626,000 registered vehicles in the state in 1996 -- including trailers, motorcycles and snowmobiles -- there is the potential for increased usage.
"One of the most satisfying pieces of all this is that some of our younger drivers may never have to stand in line again," he said. "How that changes things is really exciting. Their relationship with government doesn't mean standing in line. ... We've taken what used to be a two-week process and turned it into a 15-second process."
The process is continuing. In May, the lieutenant governor again called for an increased use of the Internet, this time issuing a directive that as much of the state's licensing as possible be made available online.
The following month, legislation allowing digital-signature technologies to be adopted in Alaska was signed into law. The law, which took effect Sept. 1, will update state statutes and codes to make digital signatures legally binding, one aspect that has state officials excited about the possibilities for other online business solutions.
Another idea that state officials are considering is a plan to allow online reservations of cabins in Alaska's state parks. While the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation is still considering how to offer the vacation reservations online, it's just another example of how Alaska is on the forefront of pioneering a new "self-serve" government.
For more information, contact Mark Badger, Alaska's chief technology officer, or Ron Hensley, Alaska's chief of computer services, at 907/465-2220. Also contact Software AG at 703/391-6603.
Corey Grice is a San Francisco-based writer.
September Table of Contents
