The Montreal Economic Institute released a report this morning examining “The State of Competition in Canada’s Telecommunications Industry“.

Last year, the 2014 edition of the report concluded Ottawa is harming consumers of telecommunications services by encouraging artificial competition. That report countered the oft-repeated mantra that Canadians pay noncompetitive prices for low quality telecommunications services. The report argued that interventions aiming to increase the number of players through subsidies and mandated access were not likely to have the intended effects and might instead jeopardize investments and innovation.

The 2015 report has 4 key sections:

• Chapter 1: How Does Canada Measure Up?
• Chapter 2: An Update on Wireless Competition in Canada
• Chapter 3: Mandatory Sharing of Broadband Networks: Fostering or Hindering Innovation?
• Chapter 4: The Impact of Technological Changes on Competition in the Telecommunications Sector

So, how does Canada measure up? According to the report, Canada has among the world’s most advanced and efficient wireless networks. “Canadians continue to be among the biggest consumers of telecommunications services in the world, an indication that we enjoy competitive, quality services.”

The authors suggest that “The government and the CRTC should stop emulating the failed policies of Europe and revive Canada’s historically less interventionist wireless regulation, which has served consumers well.”

The conclusion is entitled “Endangered Benefits.”

Canadians continue to enjoy one of the most advanced telecommunications networks on the planet, and while prices are higher than in Europe, they are lower than in the United States and Japan. This explains in part why Canadians are among the biggest consumers of telecommunications services in the world.

These benefits, however, are endangered. The numerous interventions carried out by the federal government to encourage the establishment of a 4^th wireless telephony player across the country could end up hurting consumers by undermining innovation in this industry.
…
The most appropriate public policies are those that will allow Canadian telecommunications companies to face this global competition and that will offer the best investment climate. The debate over a fourth wireless player, and the government’s interventions in the matter, which continued this year, are just a costly distraction that could well backfire for Canadian consumers.

How do lawyers and economists examine the impact of regulation on investment and innovation? That is precisely the subject of one of the panels at The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit, taking place in just over 3 weeks, on June 1. The session, “Competition in Telecom: Net Neutrality and Innovation,” brings together leaders from Canada and the United States and will feature:

• Dvai Ghose (moderator), Global Head of Equity Research at Canaccord Genuity, has consistently been ranked as an all-star Canadian Telecom and Cable Services Analyst by Brendan Wood International. He has also been ranked the number one equity analyst for stock picking and EPS estimate accuracy in the Telecommunication sector in North America by Starmine and Forbes Magazine.
• Ariel Katz is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, where he holds the Innovation Chair in Electronic Commerce. His general area of research involves economic analysis of competition law and intellectual property law, with allied interests in electronic commerce, pharmaceutical regulation, the regulation of international trade, and particularly the intersection of these fields.
• John Lawford is Executive Director and General Counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), a national non-profit organization that provides legal and research services on behalf of consumer interests, and, in particular, vulnerable consumer interests, concerning the provision of important public services.
• Len Waverman has been a professor of economics at the University of Toronto and the London Business School and Dean of the Haskayne School of Business as well as professor of strategy at the University of Calgary. He is currently Dean of the DeGroote School of Business.
• Christopher Yoo, Director, Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition at University of Pennsylvania Law School, has emerged as one of the leading authorities on law and technology. His research focuses on how the principles of network engineering and the economics of imperfect competition can provide insights into the regulation of electronic communications.

This session should be interesting and provoke considerable discussion.

Have you registered yet for The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit?

A few weeks ago, I wrote about “Connecting the unconnected“, taking a look at various strategies to provide introductory connectivity to people who cannot otherwise afford devices or broadband service.

Some of these strategies involve providing access to a limited number of “zero-rated” services, such as Wikipedia.

Through the years, carriers have used (and continue to use) zero-rated offerings as a way to get people to expand their use of services. To this day, many companies have “social plans”, providing limited access to some social networking sites for a flat monthly rate.

Internet.org is a zero-rated service being offered in less developed countries seeking to provide affordable access to a limited number of sites. “Internet.org is a Facebook-led initiative bringing together technology leaders, nonprofits and local communities to connect the two thirds of the world that doesn’t have internet access.”

Like flat rate services in Canada, activists have criticized Internet.org for violating “net neutrality”, favoring Facebook over other websites and services.

In a news story this morning, BBC quotes Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, striking back at the activists:

But Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg said it was “not sustainable to offer the whole internet for free”.

“It costs tens of billions of dollars every year to run the internet, and no operator could afford this if everything were free,” he said in an online video posted to Internet.org’s website.

…

Mr Zuckerberg said that people should not prevent others from using the internet in order to defend an “extreme definition of net neutrality”.

“Are we a community that values people and improving people’s lives above all else, or are we a community that puts the intellectual purity of technology above people’s needs?” he asked.

In announcing the Internet.org Platform, Zuckerberg says “For most people who aren’t online, the biggest barrier to connecting isn’t lack of infrastructure – more than 80% of the world’s population already lives within range of a mobile signal. Instead, the biggest challenges are affordability of the internet, and awareness of how internet services are valuable to them.”

Should carriers and applications be restricted in exploring business models that increase adoption of digital technology and services? Or, as Zuckerberg asks, will an “extreme definition of net neutrality” put “the intellectual purity of technology above people’s needs?”

Zero rating of services is certain to be raised by a number of the panels at The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit, which opens in 4 weeks in Toronto. On Monday June 1, a panel of top telecom economists from Canada and the US will be exploring “Competition in telecom: net neutrality and innovation“. On June 2, the regulatory executives from Canada’s leading communications service providers will debate the full range of issues facing regulation and government policy. and, on June 3, two panels will related issues with “Hyper Connectivity: Shaping Personal & Business Digital Relationships” and “Coming to Any Screen Near You: The video revolution“.

Check out the full conference program. Have you registered yet?

Internet governance, video streaming, cyber security, explosive demand for broadband capacity, changing customer behaviours. How do you stay on top of it all?

The most influential leaders of the Canadian & International ICT industry will gather in Toronto from June 1-3 at The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit.

There is no better way to get the most current information abut all of the issues affecting the development of Canada’s digital economy. We have been advised that lawyers who need Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits are able to claim time spent attending “substantive” sessions at The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit as “Substantive Hours” toward the Law Society’s CPD requirements.

Less than four weeks remain until Canada’s most important communications and information technology event. Register now for The Canadian Telecom Summit!

Alone, any of our keynoters would be worth taking the time to listen to. The Canadian Telecom Summit brings you all them – and more than 50 panelists – over 3 unmatched days of presentations, discussions, idea sharing, relationship forming and even deal making.

The sector continues to be front page news; Canadians want to know what is happening with their communications services: TV, internet, wireless and wireline phones. The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit gives you the opportunity to meet with the leading stakeholders of the industry.

Now in its 14th year, The Canadian Telecom Summit is the only telecommunications & IT event you need to attend. Join hundreds of colleagues from around the world.

No other event presents a complete picture of current and expected trends & developments. No other event matches The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit for the depth and breadth of topics covered and issues debated.

We have put together a speaker and topic line-up that we feel is the strongest ever, with panels such as:

• Competition in Telecom: Net Neutrality and Innovation
• Big Data and Analytics
• Cyber Security
• The Regulatory Blockbuster
• Customer Experience Management
• Turbo Charging Network Performance
• Advanced Mobile Services & Customer Value
• The Internet of Things
• The Video Revolution

In additional to some popular returning themes, many are being featured for the first time at The Canadian Telecom Summit.

Here’s what you get:

• Topical Presentations;
• First-rate Keynote Speeches;
• Lively Discussion;
• Stimulating Sharing of Ideas;
• Many Networking Opportunities; and
• So Much More.

Come see why The Canadian Telecom Summit has become the only must-attend conference. With more opportunities than ever to learn, network and do business, if you are involved with or impacted by Canadian telecommunications, broadcasting or information technology, you need to be at The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit.

Join your colleagues for 3 days of spirited discussion and networking. Register today for The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit.

Visit http://www.telecomsummit.com to register today.

I received an email last night that was sent to a number of “Undisclosed Recipients”. A colleague of mine tells me that he received 3 copies. The subject line of the email was “We Must Hasten Change – CRTC , Telecom Oligopoly Can’t Survive it. Delaying Inevitable will just Handicap Canada.”

Let me share the entire manifesto with you.

Court case reveals feud among CRTC’s upper ranks – The Globe and Mail
Those of you who follow the Internal Conflict at the CRTC should do what you can to hasten the inevitable.
It’s time to bring down this old institution so that a new shiny one, that understands the game, can take its place.
The World has changed and neither the CRTC or Canada’s Telecom Oligopoly will survive the change.
For the Good of Canada we Must Hasten it if we can.

This is the Foot In the Door We have been Waiting For
It’s a story that Invites Follow-Up Coverage.
A piece that does Short Bios on All Commissioners.
And Asks If The Atlantic Region Commissioner’s Seat is Still Empty?
And How much time Each Commissioner spends With A Telecom Lobbyist?

We follow your twitter feed and many others, and wish that news of the need for a dramatic change in Canada could spread over the twitter wires. We feel there is a dire need for the CRTC and the Canadian Telecom Oligopoly to cease to exist as they do today. And the sooner, the better. Because the longer they try to hold on in their current form – the further behind our nation falls.

Our opinion of the internal problem at the CRTC is this: It is probably symptomatic of something more than just the harassment issue. We suspect that the heat on the Commissioners from the Telecom Lobbyists is probably higher than ever before because of the changing times. The world as the Telecom Industry once knew it is changing forever. To the degree that they may not even be part of the new world. What happens to an entity (Canada’s Telecom Oligopoly) when its very existence is threatened? Panic. Upheaval. Irrational Behaviour. Bully Tactics. You name it. And so at the CRTC interaction between Commissioners and CRTC staff is tense. Because as we all know the Commissioners are the ones that do the bidding for the Telecom Lobbyists. They might just spend more time with a Telecom Lobbyist than anyone else in their lives. Obviously the Telco Lobby is turning up the heat these days as a matter of survival. So the pressure on the Commissioners is at an all-time high. Tempers flair. Ego gets in the way. Which Leads to interpersonal conflict. It goes public. But this is a by-product of the bigger picture. The changing world. Put it to you this way. If regulators and legislators had gotten their way back when Henry Ford was becoming enlightened. They would have just gotten faster horses. Canada’s Telecoms are in a corner. And there is no way out. Remember, in the end Ford made buggy whips go away.

That is not to say that Blais is squeaky clean. His way of thinking is out dated as well. There are no winners in this. But each side will try to fight to the death. Those of you who follow this should do what you can to hasten the inevitable. Talk about it. Analyze it. Twitter it, if Twitter doesn’t close down. Because the best thing for Canada, would be for the CRTC and the Lobby that runs it, to cease to exist in the form that they are today. All you who write about this industry should be tickled at what you are about to witness. Doesn’t happen very often. It has. Industrial evolution has existed since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. But never has the rate of acceleration of that evolution been like this. You’re all aware of Moore’s Law. The law has never failed. But it will. And you know why. Because at this point no scientist is predicting that we can build a semi conductor where the circuit track is narrower than one atomic width. And if Moore’s Law continues, that is where it will take us in about 10 years or so. Do you think telecoms as they exist today will be in that world?

The Digital Revolution is now moving faster than a stodgy old Telecom Bureaucracy can keep pace. And likewise, faster than the mind set of an old school regulator such as the CRTC.

So don’t get in the way of this. Hasten it if you can. Canada must keep up with the times in order to compete. And if the Telecoms and the CRTC were to have it their way, they would just as soon see things move a little slower. But that would be just handicapping the entire nation.

The United States is on the march to build Gigabyte Networks everywhere. Many Asian countries are already there. Europe and the UK are on their way there as well. There is a Digital Nation just on the other side of our borders that is getting in the Global Game. Canada’s Political System is tone deaf to it right now. Because of the Lobby. The CRTC is a casualty of it. Too preoccupied with the noise of the Lobby pressure on one side and the Political pressure on the other, to be able to see clearly what is happening in the rest of the world.

You have a responsibility and the tools to herald the news. Why wait? It’s time to bring down this old institution so that a new shiny one that understands the game can take its place. Otherwise, not only will Rural Canadians continue to be at a Digital Disadvantage with the rest of Canada. But Canada will be at a Digital Disadvantage with the rest of the world.

Lets get on with it.

Thank you,

Brooke DeCosta Young
Citizens For Rural Wire-Line Broadband Internet
Advocating For ALL Canadians
Deer Island, NB

The Quoddy Tides newspaper reported on the group getting started last November, seeking improved internet service for their community.

There is a palpable frustration with the internet services available to many rural and remote communities. The Quoddy Tides quoted Grand Manan’s Chief Administrative Officer saying “The problem is with local businesses and how important high Internet speed is to our lobster fisheries and others who have to deal with the Internet.” Providing wire-line services to an island is especially challenging because of the sensitivity of the fishery to the placement of an undersea cable.

But that is just one of the issues the CRTC will have to consider in its “Review of basic telecommunications services” proceeding. First submissions are due in two months and the oral hearing is a year away, starting April 11, 2016.

The most influential leaders of the Canadian & International ICT industry will gather in Toronto from June 1-3 at The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit.

Alone, any of our keynote speakers would be well worth listening to. The Canadian Telecom Summit brings over a dozen keynote address – and more than 50 panelists – over 3 unmatched days of presentations, discussions, sharing ideas, forming new relationships, renewing existing ones and even deal making.

Now in its 14th year, The Canadian Telecom Summit has grown to become Canada’s most important annual telecommunications & IT event, attracting hundreds of attendees from around the world each year. No other event presents a complete picture of current and expected trends & developments. No other event matches The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit for the depth and breadth of topics covered and issues debated.

Come see why The Canadian Telecom Summit has become THE must-attend conference. With more opportunities than ever to learn, network and do business, if you are involved with or impacted by Canadian telecommunications, broadcasting or information technology, you need to be at The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit.

Join your colleagues, competitors and customers for 3 days of spirited discussion and networking. Be sure to take a look at the full conference brochure.

Save $250 by registering before May 1. Register today for The 2015 Canadian Telecom Summit.