Creating a vision for telecom policy reform was part of the theme of a posting a couple weeks ago.
How does Industry Canada get the average donut-eating-public interested in the report of the Telecom Policy Review panel in order to move the issue higher on the public agenda?
I mentioned two weeks ago that the report is a great recipe book, but many people may have trouble seeing what the end result looks like. I think that we have to show people a vision of tomorrow. The picture of some gourmet delight on the cover of the recipe book.
Let’s take a look at parts of the executive summary of the report for to find a place to start.
The new objectives [of the Telecom Act] should focus on three broad goals:
- promoting affordable access to advanced telecommunications services in all regions of Canada, including urban, rural and remote areas
- enhancing the efficiency of Canadian telecommunications markets and the productivity of the Canadian economy
- enhancing the social well-being of Canadians and the inclusiveness of Canadian society by meeting the needs of the disabled, enhancing public safety and security, protecting personal privacy and limiting public nuisance through telecommunications networks.
Enhancing the efficiency of telecom markets? I think that most members of the general would say: not my problem – don’t care, until we translate improved telecom market efficiency into lower prices for telecom services.
We can certainly talk about productivity of the Canadian economy. People might be interested. Does that mean better jobs? Lower costs? Work at home?
The third goal is one that crosses political lines and will lead to active debates – there is something in there for everyone. Enhancing public safety and security sounds good – at least everyone has an opinion; protecting personal privacy and limiting public nuisance are important and difficult issues. We have recently seen the announcement of Canada’s major ISPs agreeing to block content identified by Cybertip.ca to be illegal.
All of these are goals worth discussing. Issues worth debating.
Are we on the road toward raising the interest of the general public? How about you?