In some ways, the year 2013 seems to have finished where we started. There was a lot of noise in between January and December, but on one key front, nothing changed.

Last year, in my first post of the year 2013, I wrote:

It is the beginning of a new year. A chance to make a fresh start.

So perhaps, it is time for us to take a fresh look at a long overdue file, the national digital strategy.

Michael Geist led off his year-end column in the Toronto Star asking:

Will the government finally unveil a national digital strategy?

The long-promised national digital strategy could become a reality in 2014 after years of inaction. Industry Minister James Moore is on the verge of clearing out the lingering policy issues he inherited and may be ready to set his own path on a digital strategy.

Over the past few years, I have asked that question frequently. As I noted last year, operating without a formal strategy, it is hard to point to any catastrophic failures in our ability to compete relative to the rest of the world, but that is hardly an encouraging statement of leadership.

Let’s not confuse a digital economy strategy with a need to hand out cash for digital infrastructure or other forms of government spending, despite the political attractiveness of a photo with a ceremonial over-sized cheque. Releasing a digital strategy does not need to cost billions of dollars; it needs clear, consistent statements of objectives.

For example, while digital services adoption is a metric that is commonly used in global rankings, most people seem to focus on only one variable in the calculation: the supply side. As a result, we have seen billions of tax dollars thrown toward broadband infrastructure in remote regions, with ever diminishing returns. In some cases, close to $10,000 per household have been handed out in subsidies, permanently disrupting the business case for competitive supply of services. The private sector has already been investing in infrastructure, including billions of dollars in rural markets, delivering the supply side of the adoption calculus.

Instead, we need to promote demand. We need more programs like Rogers Connect For Success to provide low income Canadian households with affordable access to a connected home computer. [It was nearly 6 years ago that I first suggested that we should consider computers and connectivity as part of Canada’s social safety net.]

Digital adoption is just one element of a national strategy. Digital literacy is another. The original consultation asked 26 questions under 6 broad headings:

• Innovation Using Digital Technologies
• Digital Infrastructure
• Growing the ICT Industry
• Canada’s Digital Content
• Building Digital Skills
• Improving Canada’s Digital Advantage

The consultation created a table of contents for a document that we have waited 3 years to be delivered.

In May 2010, three Ministers of the Crown stood together to launch the consultation, saying “Canada can and should be a leader in the global digital economy. Now is the time for the private sector to step up and contribute their ideas for a digital strategy and, when that strategy is in place, to implement the plan.” Nearly four years have passed since that call for action.

Two previous Industry Ministers failed to deliver a plan for the private sector to implement.

Over the past year, I have stated a pretty simple leadership formula: Set clear objectives. Align activities with the achievement of those objectives. Stop doing things that are contrary to the objectives.

In the next two weeks, bidding will start in the multi-billion dollar 700 MHz spectrum auction [January 14] and Industry Minister James Moore will celebrate his 6-month anniversary of his appointment [January 15].

Isn’t it time for Canada to set clear objectives to guide the development of a digital economy?

Over the holidays, Rogers released its most recent survey of consumer technology trends, the Rogers Innovation Report.

In the summary press release, Rogers said that Canadians are not only embracing the technologies that keep them connected, they depend on them.

The research found that more than half of Canadians (52%) now personally own a smartphone; a third of Canadians have a tablet device.

Smartphone owners keep their device within reach 70% of the day (16.8 hours); on average, tablet owners keep their device within reach for 39% of the day (9.4 hours). But, interestingly, older tablet users (60+ years old) are more likely to keep their devices within reach (45% of the day).

Rogers found that 85% of users admitted to sneaking a peak at their mobile device while out with friends; 52% while on a date. Generation Y users were far more likely to check their phones: with friends (99%); on public transit (94%); watching TV (90%); or, on a date (68%). The study didn’t say if those pulling out their devices on a date are checking movie times, looking for directions or waiting ’til their friend has gone to the washroom.

The report also looks at what Canadians expect their from their devices in the near future – within the next 5 years:

• 76% expect to be able to control home appliances, hydro from their devices
• 69% expect apps to be able to provide health notifications, such as measuring blood sugar levels for diabetics
• 50% expect to spend more online than in physical stores
• 55% expect mobile apps to replace the need to carry physical bank cards
• 42% think apps will tell a knock-off from the real thing
• 71% expect smartphone batteries to last for weeks without charging

The full report is 65 pages and it is worth a read. Highlights can be found in an infographic and in the video below.

Rogers Innovation Report provides some useful data and interesting reading as we begin a new year.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous year ahead.

At The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit, Rogers Communications President Rob Bruce announced “Connected for Success”, a program to provide affordable computers and connectivity to low income households.

Rogers launched a pilot program in Toronto Community Housing in late August. The program provides a refurbished computer for just $150 and internet connectivity for only $10 per month.

In just four months, 2000 households have already taken up the offer, representing a strong growth in internet adoption for Rogers in the buildings.

Connected for Success seeks to provide an affordable Internet solution for youth, seniors, singles, and families; about 10% – 15% of participating households have seniors as the primary users.

Connected for Success is succeeding. In 2014, will other carriers join Rogers in offering solutions to bring more disadvantaged Canadians online?

I am going to use this post to provide references and links to stories in respect of the announced changes that are coming for Canada’s wireless sector.

• Government Press Release and Backgrounder
• Globe and Mail article by Eric Atkins
• National Post article by Christine Dobby
• Global News article by Jamie Sturgeon
• Yahoo Dashboard article by Carmi Levy
• Canadian Press article by LuAnn LaSalle
• Mobile Syrup article by Daniel Bader
• Business in Vancouver article by Nelson Bennett
• BNN-TV story and interview of Anthony Lacavera by Howard Green

It is interesting that the government waited until after the bids were submitted for Mobilicity’s assets. Would the number of bidders have changed had there been knowledge of the new framework? Indeed, are there bidders for those assets who had advance notice of such changes?

What do these changes do to the incentives for investment?

We have frequently written about the continual flux in the fundamental regulatory framework for the sector – a Calvinball approach to the market. What is the impact on the investment climate for digital infrastructure? Will the proposed legislative changes, with the government opening the Telecom Act and RadioCommunications Act, be the final word?

Doubtfully.

At what point do we look holistically at the communications sector – including both broadcast and telecom – and bring all of the legislation into the 21st century. That would mean looking at appropriate changes to the Broadcast Act, or rolling all of them together into an integrated Communications Act. As I suggested in August, perhaps it is time for a fresh look at a Telecom Policy Review.

That sounds like a discussion for The 2014 Canadian Telecom Summit, taking place June 16-18 in Toronto. I would be remiss if I didn’t invite you to register early!

As the year spins by, it is traditional to reflect on the past year and look forward to brighter days, making resolutions for the year ahead.

What a year it has been!

There has actually been progress on a resolution I made 2 years ago.

As was announced at the opening of The Canadian Telecom Summit, Rogers launched a pilot program to get affordable connected computers into low income households. As Rob Bruce said at the time:

It’s unfathomable that Canadians are living without internet access today because they simply cannot afford it. With Connected for Success we’ve taken the first step to connect youth and we urge our competitors, our partners and communities to work with us to bridge Canada’s digital divide.

There is still a long way to go. More areas of the country need to work on the demand side of the equation for broadband adoption. Kids have to have access to broadband connectivity and home computing in order to succeed in school. Let me reiterate Rob’s call for Rogers’ competitors, partners and communities across the country to work to bridge the divide.

I wrote 132 blog posts this year, down slightly from 139 in 2012. Too many of these were written during the summer, the summer of wireless discontent. There has been a lot of misinformation and name calling over the past six months; I think it is time to move forward on constructive dialog to build a more digitally enabled Canada.

There is a rabbinic tale of a man who spread tales about another. Feeling regret, he asked his rabbi how to make amends. The rabbi sent him out to store to buy a bag of seeds, telling him to go to an open field to scatter the seeds into the wind and then return a week later. The man did as he was told, and when he went back a week later, the rabbi told him “Now, go back to that field and pick up all the seeds you spread.” The man told the rabbi that he would never be able find all the seeds, let alone recover them. With that, the man understood that the damage from his words, spread far and wide, might never be fully undone.

As Joni Mitchell sang, “We can’t return, we can only look behind from where we came.” Still, as the carousel goes round and round, we can raise the level of the debate, stop the name calling, deal in issues at an appropriate level of depth and analysis, far beyond what can be captured in a 140 character tweet.

In the coming year, we need to ensure that the right policy framework is in place to encourage the private sector to make multi-billion dollar investments in digital infrastructure. We need to address issues of digital adoption and increase digital literacy among low income Canadians and small and medium sized businesses. We need serious discussion of serious issues including better analysis of potential unintended consequences.

And I still need to lose 20 pounds.

Have a safe, healthy and peaceful holiday season. I look forward to engaging with you in 2014. Together, hopefully we can exceed all our targets.