Setting our national vision

The 10 days leading up to the start of Yom Kippur tonight are a time for reflection, a review of the past year.

I have taken the past week to recuperate from some surgery, which provided an opportunity to have narcotics influence the thought process. As a preamble, I wish to note that my surgeon recommended not conducting any major legal or financial transactions while under the influence. So, I hope this note of reflection doesn’t end up like the epiphanal manuscript from Jerry Maguire.

It has been 4 months since the launch of Canada’s consultation on the Digital Economy. In that time, we have seen some huge amounts of money allocated for rural broadband by the Broadband Canada program and the CRTC’s deferral account decision.

It seems to me that we have been spending a huge amount of money without first having a clear statement of our objectives. What are we trying to accomplish by spending this money, with what kind of paramenters to measure success? What is the liberalization of foreign investment rules trying to accomplish?

I’m not being facetious here. What is the one-line elevator pitch description of the objective of more than a half billion dollars (or more) that was committed to extend broadband access over the past few months?

Without a clear statement of our objective, how can we measure whether it was the most effective way to spend the money. Sure, there are regions that are now in line to get access to improved connectivity – but that doesn’t mean we got value for the money. Are we even heading in the right direction?

Clearly, it has not been to get as many Canadians on-line as possible. If that was the objective, we would be spending more money stimulating demand among the millions of Canadians that already have access to broadband, but have not yet connected.

Around one in 5 Canadian homes doesn’t subscribe to a wireline high speed broadband service that is at their front door. We know that broadband adoption rates are skewed toward higher income Canadians.

So, if our objectives for a digital Canada are geared toward improving economic advantages, shouldn’t we focus on greater digital participation among those Canadians who are already the most economically disadvantaged?

And if increasing broadband adoption is the primary objective, are our current government programmes consistent with the most effective way to achieve that goal?

There have been some commentators that have argued that Canada needs a Digital Minister – a single point of focus around the Cabinet table. I disagree: this is perhaps one implementation approach, but not the only one. I could argue as forcefully that a government that truly buys into a digital vision could (and should) have a more pervasive virtual digital leadership; digital strategies should be found within every government office.

The “how” is more of an implementation detail. I am far more concerned with the “what”. What are we trying to do? Let’s start by making that answer clear.

What is our national digital connectivity objective? Do we want the fastest speeds? Do we want the most people to have access? Do we want the most people to be connected? Do we want global leadership in certain types of content or applications development?

I would vote to focus on maximizing the number of Canadians who are connected on-line all the time. And if that is the case, then spending programs need to be measured based on how effectively they deliver on that goal, with technological neutrality.

I am less fussed with what gizmo or plumbing pipe people use, as long as it serves the purposes of enabling us to be able to leverage the capabilities, efficiencies and opportunities afforded by digital connectivity and literacy.

Nokia recently announced its focus on getting the next billion connected to the internet. It is a clear statement of a bold objective.

It is a new school year, a new season, as we prepare for the return of Parliament on Monday, let’s look forward to a clear statement of a bold digital vision.