A little over two years ago, I wrote about the Canadian telecommunications sector losing ground on diversity in the executive ranks.

As an industry, we have seen considerable progress since then, evidenced by the agenda for The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit, taking place June 3-5 in Toronto.

This year’s event will feature 3 women in keynote speaking roles, including past recipient of the “Woman of the Year” title from Canadian Women in Communications, Karen Sheriff (President & CEO of Bell Aliant). She is joined by Qualcomm’s Peggy Johnson and IBM’s Sandy Carter.

In addition to over a dozen powerful Canadian and International keynote speakers, the Summit will feature the following panel discussions:

• CIO/CTO Roundtable;
• Revolution of TV;
• Regulatory Blockbuster;
• Wireless: the Next Generation;
• Customers Speak Out;
• Customer Focused Business Transformation;
• Devices, Screen and Apps;
• Network Transformation;
• Business Models in Converged World;
• Building an Innovation Economy.

The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit reviews where we have been as an industry, provides an understanding of the dynamics that propel it and forecasts future trends and expected developments. Now in its 12th year, attendance is a must for telecom and IT industry professionals, corporate users, carriers and manufacturers financial analysts, consultants and investors.

Don’t miss this truly unique opportunity to hear keynote addresses from the top industry shapers, to pose tough questions of them and the senior panelists, and to interact with them and your fellow attendees at the extended breaks and cocktail reception.

There is a special offer for CWC members as described here.

For more information, visit The Canadian Telecom Summit website. Have you registered yet?

As my regular readers know, the most influential leaders of the Canadian & International ICT industry will be gathering in Toronto from June 3-5 at The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit. You should be there too.

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, idea sharing, relationship forming and even deal making. There is no other event quite like it.

Now in its 12th 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. No other event presents a complete picture of current and expected trends & developments. No other event matches The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit for the depth and breadth of topics covered and issues debated.

Come see why The Canadian Telecom Summit has become the sector’s 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 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit.

Join your colleagues for 3 days of spirited discussion and networking. Register today for The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit.

Visit http://www.telecomsummit.com to register today. Prices go up May 1.

From June 3-5, stakeholders in Canada’s telecommunications and ICT sectors will be getting together in Toronto to meet, network and explore issues at the nation’s leading industry event, The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit.

In addition to over a dozen powerful Canadian and International keynote speakers, The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit will feature some of the best panels that we have presented in the history of this event:

• CIO/CTO Roundtable;
• Revolution of TV;
• Regulatory Blockbuster;
• Wireless: the Next Generation;
• Customers Speak Out;
• Customer Focused Business Transformation;
• Devices, Screen and Apps;
• Network Transformation;
• Business Models in Converged World;
• Building an Innovation Economy.

Seventy top speakers will help stimulate discussion of the issues that shape communications services. Now in its 12^th year, attendance is a must for telecom and IT industry professionals corporate users, carriers and manufacturers financial analysts, consultants and investors.

Have you registered yet? Prices go up May 1. Check out the conference website and register today.

It’s settled. Canada’s wireless sector is fiercely competitive according to Industry Minister Christian Paradis.

In Monday morning (April 15), the Minister held a conference call to discuss highlights of his trip to Asia. According to the transcript of the call, there was an exchange with Andrew Mayeda of Bloomberg News:

Question: Hi, Minister. I wanted to ask you about the wireless market back home in Canada. There have been reports that now it’s not just Wind Mobile that is potentially on the block, that also Mobilicity and Public Mobile are potentially for sale and that there’s a high possibility that those companies could end up going to the incumbents. You said publicly that you’d like four major wireless carriers in every part of the country. Are you concerned about the way things are going right now? And what steps might you take to deal with the situation?

Hon. Christian Paradis: First of all, of course this is – I always – you know, I always said that I acknowledge that this is a fierce sector in terms of competition. The competition is very high. Consolidation of course might occur but on the other hand I think we put the best policies in place in order to enhance the fact that we can have a fourth player in each region of the country in terms of competition and more investments. We also launched consultations about – about the transfer – the licenses – transfer criterias so now we are listening to what the industry has to say. But I think that we are on the right track to – in terms of policy. Of course it’s a work in progress. We will see what’s going on but I still remain confident that we will achieve our goal.

A fierce sector in terms of competition. If so, what is motivating the expanded roaming and tightened tower sharing rules announced in early March?

Jeff Fan from Scotiabank issued a new report yesterday, warning “A messy situation may be developing for Industry Canada.”

For IC, it’s a case of catch 22. If it doesn’t allow the transfers, it risks legal action. If it allows, we have consolidation. This may turn out to be a no-win situation. As we have noted before, we think IC should declare victory while it is ahead. Don’t fight a battle that cannot be won. Stop listening to the consumer activists and groups criticizing the wireless industry with outdated information. Canada is not large enough to support four facility-based competitors. IC should focus on the CRTC code to protect consumers and provide the CRTC with more power to enforce the code appropriately.

The fact that the United States is having a difficult time creating a viable third should be a lesson for Canada that a viable fourth carrier in every region of Canada is a long shot.

These points should provide be some interesting fodder for discussions arising at The Canadian Telecom Summit in June. Are you registered yet?

These continue to be turbulent times for the communications sector. Following a report in the Globe and Mail on Friday about talks between TELUS and Mobilicity, there are reports of consolidation taking place with the 3 independent new entrants who just left the national wireless association, in addition to a previously announced option agreement for Rogers to acquire spectrum from Shaw.

While Industry Minister Christian Paradis has indicated an objective for all Canadians to have access to at least 4 wireless service  providers, as I asked last month, do we have the right policies in place to drive investment in innovation and consumer choice for Canada’s wireless sector?

In theory and with the best intent, these measures are supposed to help foster a more competitive market. The problem was that these measures were announced without an overall strategy against which they could be tested for consistency with an ultimate objective. So the measures sound good, but how can we determine if they fit together with an overall plan?

In practice, we may have already seen the first unintended, yet somewhat predictable sign that some of these measures could be counter productive.

Four years ago, on the occasion of Globalive being awarded its spectrum license, I wrote a piece asking “What’s the rush“. Following payment of the auction price, I wondered what was the hurry to get the actual piece of paper? The issuance of the license started the clock ticking on a number of counters. At the time, my focus was on the expiration of the initial 10-year license period. I asked why carriers would want time counting down during the first year or so that it would take to build the network.

At the time, I was taking a long term view, thinking about companies that bought spectrum in order to build a business that would be around for a while.

There were others who may have just been looking at getting past the 5-year restrictions on potential buyers, always keeping in mind the opportunity to sell. That is why the license award table, identifying the start date for each buyer of AWS spectrum, is an important reference document to keep on hand. There are blocks of spectrum that have still not been activated; some of the new entrants have licenses in a range of geographic areas that may never justify a network build or market launch.

I have been wondering recently if government intervention is introducing too much uncertainty into the Canadian wireless marketplace. Is the ground shifting too much at once?

In the past few months, the Industry Minister has tried to build interest among global players in investing in the Canadian wireless market, such as during his recent visit to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Is the investment climate in Canada favourable for global players?

There are lots of regulatory adjustments to the wireless market in play right now, all motivated by fostering consumer benefits, but seemingly lacking coordination. Is too much change happening at once? Among others, we have seen: The federal government liberalized foreign investment in all but the three biggest telecom carriers in Canada; some provincial governments have enacted a patchwork of consumer laws that target mobile carriers; the CRTC is developing a wireless code of conduct that may or may not supersede these laws; Industry Canada is introducing new license conditions and has created uncertainty in the rules associated with license transfers that could be associated with mergers and acquisitions.

These issues, and many more, will be explored at The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit, taking place June 3-5 in Toronto. In particular, Rita Trichur from the Globe and Mail is moderating a session on Wednesday, June 5 called “Unplugged: The next generation of wireless”. Earlier that day, Namir Anani from ICTC is moderating a session called “Building an Innovation Economy”.

Registration fees increase May 1. Have you registered yet for The 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit?