Yesterday marked 20 years since Research In Motion launched the Inter@active 900 pager, a precursor to what would become the Blackberry smartphone.
The anniversary went by largely unnoticed by the media, which is too bad. It was an important breakthrough for the company; an important step toward making RIM a dominant player in the world of consumer electronics, and for a time, owning the category of smart phones.
I subscribe to the belief that it is important to remember where we came from, learning from past successes (and failures).
We have just started work on developing the program for The 2017 Canadian Telecom Summit, taking place June 5-7, 2017 in Toronto. Next June will mark 25 years since the CRTC approved liberalization of the telecommunications services market. The theme for 2017 will be “Competition, Investment and Innovation: Driving Canada’s Digital Future.”
Innovation is such an important part of Canada’s Federal agenda that the Department of Industry has been renamed “Innovation, Science and Economic Development” (ISED). There is a national consultation underway by Minister Navdeep Bains, who has identified six areas for action:
- Entrepreneurial and Creative Society—Being innovative becomes a core Canadian value
- Global Science Excellence—Canadian science capabilities and research infrastructure become among the best in the world
- World-Leading Clusters and Partnerships—Super clusters that are the destination of choice for ideas, talent and capital
- Grow Companies and Accelerate Clean Growth—Canadian companies compete to win and create jobs
- Compete in a Digital World—Canada is at the forefront of economy-wide digital development and adoption
- Ease of Doing Business—Canada is the location of choice for investment and growth
These six areas are captured in the theme for The 2017 Canadian Telecom Summit.
I have been fortunate to be around the telecommunications industry for the past 36 years and have actively participated in creating a more competitive sector, making bold investments and helping launch a number of important innovations.
Late last week, a friend and colleague suggested that as a build-up toward next year’s event, I should do a series of tweets that showcase those telecom sector patents and innovations that changed society and the industry. As I started to look at which innovations should be in that series, I ran across the original press release for the RIM Inter@ctive 900 and realized that the 20th anniversary was taking place.
Starting November 1, I’ll highlight innovations that have emerged from the telecom sector. Many of them will likely be from Bell Labs, where I was fortunate to have worked early in my career. As I have written before, Bell Labs in Holmdel was an inspiring place, by design.
When I was being shown around the facility by my first boss, Dick Grantges, he paused as we passed the reflecting ponds at the front of the building. Resting his arms on the banister and gazing out at the geese, he sighed and said that one of the things he liked best about working at Bell Labs is that if you get your best ideas while gazing out the windows, then we’ll pay you to stare at geese.
In those days, Bell Labs at Holmdel was a place that Minister Bains would have sought to emulate. Home to multiple Nobel laureates, the centre was the destination of choice for talent with research capabilities like no other. It shouldn’t be surprising that so many innovations emerged from Bell Labs that transcended the telecom sector.
To tweet an “innovation-a-day” from November 1 to June 2 (the Friday before The 2017 Canadian Telecom Summit), I’ll be highlighting about 140 innovations. I came up with 30 over the weekend, and I would welcome your input as I work on the rest. Send me a note or add a comment to this blog post.
Competition, Investment and Innovation: Driving Canada’s Digital Future. How do we make “being innovative” a core Canadian value? How do we ensure Canada is at the forefront of economy-wide digital development and adoption? How does Canada become the location of choice for investment and growth?
Plan to be at The 2017 Canadian Telecom Summit, June 5-7 in Toronto.