Month: January 2009

While I was in Tel Aviv earlier this week, I had a chance to meet with dozens of interesting companies that are innovating in the global telecommunications space.

One of them, TeleMessage, has already been successful in introducing their capabilities into Canada’s major mobile networks.

I’m not sure how well the service is promoted [see Rogers website, TELUS website, Bell website]. Pricing varies, ranging from a 15 cents per message premium at Rogers to being treated as a standard text message by Bell [Ask your service provider for details].

It seems to me to that this is a service that can have a lot of value when you need to get a message out, but just can’t make a call, whether it is a kid trying to be discreet getting word out to parents at home, or business people sending a message to the home office. And the price beats typical Canadian mobile long distance rates.

How can service providers do a better job at promoting all of the capabilities of their networks?

That is just one of the issues we’ll be discussing at The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit.

We are working to provide a showcase for international telecom innovation at The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit in June.

Have you registered yet?

How ironic.

CBC is reporting that “Google targets throttling with new net measurement tools“.

AP’s headline reads “Google sets up online broadband testing lab“.

Business 2.0 says “Google Fights Net Neutrality with MLab“.

I wanted to see what the fuss was all about.

Almost as if to prove why traffic needs to be managed, my first attempt to reach Google’s new Measurement Lab was greeted with a network timeout message.

The server at measurementlab.net is taking too long to respond.

The requested site did not respond to a connection request and the browser has stopped waiting for a reply.

* Could the server be experiencing high demand or a temporary outage? Try again later.
* Are you unable to browse other sites? Check the computer’s network connection.
* Is your computer or network protected by a firewall or proxy? Incorrect settings can interfere with Web browsing.
* Still having trouble? Consult your network administrator or Internet provider for assistance.

When I finally got through and clicked on the User Connection Test link, the timeout message was repeated.

Exactly what are we showing here?

When I entered the departure area of Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening, my cellphone received a text message.

The message came from Cellcom, the carrier from which I have an Israeli SIM card. The text informed me that my phone would continue to work for me while I am outside Israel and that there are discount packages available.

I thought it was most interesting to have seen that my location served as a trigger to generate the message.

In this particular instance, the message came from the wireless service provider itself, not a third party advertiser. How would users respond to location based advertising starting to beep their phones? Are network information messages a way to start preparing consumers for another screen to be targeted by advertisers?

Technorati Tags:
Cellcom, SMS

What does the budget hold for us in the communications and information technology sector?

On rural broadband:

Canada was one of the first countries to implement a connectivity agenda geared toward facilitating Internet access to all of its citizens. To this day, Canada remains one of the most connected nations in the world, with the highest broadband connection rate among the G7 countries. However, gaps in access to broadband remain, particularly in rural and remote communities.

The Government is committed to closing the broadband gap in Canada by encouraging the private development of rural broadband infrastructure.

Budget 2009 provides $225 million over three years to Industry Canada to develop and implement a strategy on extending broadband coverage to all currently unserved communities beginning in 2009–10.

We need to look beyond the funds that will be spent over the next 3 years on extending broadband in unserved parts of the country. I noticed that Michael Geist compares that sum to the AU$4.7B that Australia is committing. Of course, we need to consider that Australia lags Canada’s penetration rates by 2-3 years, demonstrating that our broadband industry has been able to a far better job of providing service without reliance on government.

On the Canada Health Infoway:

Budget 2009 provides Canada Health Infoway with $500 million to support the goal of having 50 per cent of Canadians with an electronic health record by 2010. In addition, this funding will be used to speed up the implementation of electronic medical record systems for physicians and integrated points of service for hospitals, pharmacies, community care facilities and patients. An electronic medical record system allows doctors and other health care providers to chart patient health information using a computer, thereby avoiding duplication of testing and helping to ensure patient safety and effective treatment.

This appears to be a positive for TELUS’ investment in Emergis and its focus on health sector solutions.

On the Canada Foundation for Innovation

In order to accelerate investments in leading-edge facilities and equipment, Budget 2009 provides $150 million to increase the funding available for meritorious projects in the 2009 Leading Edge and New Initiatives Funds Competition.

In addition, Budget 2009 provides $600 million for future activities of the Foundation, including the launch of one or more new competitions by December 2010 in support of areas of priority identified by the Minister of Industry in consultation with the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and guided by the Foundation’s strategic plan.

What will it take for telecommunications to be defined as an “area of priority”.

The Waterloo area benefits from $50M toward the Institute for Quantum Computing. Favourable tax treatment for investments in new computers and software. This can also serve as a stimulus for increased network demand from the business sector.

My thanks to Brian G for helping find the appropriate excerpts from the budget documents.

Technorati Tags:
budget

In comments filed with the CRTC’s proceeding on network management, the Canadian Association of the Deaf (“CAD”) warns that its stakeholders need to be assured of quality for their above average consumption of multi-media content.

A disability lens … needs to be applied to any and all traffic management proposals to make sure unintended consequences on Deaf or other people with disabilities do not impact the communities negatively.

The association’s comments also refer to proposals for Video Relay Service and IPRelay, under consideration in the Public Notice 2008–8 proceeding, which is examining accessibility of telecommunications and broadcasting services to persons with disabilities.

In addition, CAD suggests that Deaf users may use video phones to communicate with others without going through relay service providers.

The comments were filed nearly a month before the due date in a proceeding that many view as an examination of net neutrality. Most public comments are expected to be filed on February 16.

Technorati Tags:
network management, net neutrality, Canada, CRTC