I had an interesting discussion recently about unintended consequences. The subject arose when discussing quick fixes to a variety of issues related to social protests in the country I was visiting. People were suggesting that apartments are too expensive, so rents should be reduced across the board. I asked why landlords would want to build new apartments or fix their existing ones if they suddenly lost their income.

Are rental rates uniformly too high, or was there a lack of supply of housing at the lower end of the rental market? Of course, we would all like to see a reduction in anything that represents a monthly bill: rent, utility bills, parking, bus passes. Quick fixes often have unintended consequences.

It got me thinking that Canada has had its share of unintended consequences – some notable incidents in the telecommunications arena. With an especially fragile economy, we need government programs and strategies to avoid the kinds of disincentives that might discourage investment, employment and long term economic growth.

As we get into a new session of parliament on a federal level and enter a season of provincial and territorial elections, let’s hope that our leaders look beyond populist quick fixes in their campaign promises and economic programmes.

Getting ready to fly back to Canada, I can reflect on some international communications experiences. I have been overseas for the past week visiting my daughter. It has been interesting to travel in a country that enjoys mobile penetration of more than 140%, despite prices that appear to be in the same order of magnitude as ours in Canada. My daughter’s voice and data plan is around $70 per month, which takes about 3 and a half hours to earn. Her plan includes 1 GB of data, with extra charges for more. She is shopping for a better plan, no different from her friends back in Toronto.

Mobile phones are everywhere and competition appears to be vibrant, with number portability and switching incentives. But using any measure of affordability, prices are much, much higher as a share of local wages. So, the local government is taking steps to add more competitors to the marketplace.

While most areas have solid connectivity, 3.5G is not prevalent and no one is talking about LTE.

I kept connected with a local SIM card, in part to avoid roaming charges, but mainly so that friends and family over here would have a local number that they would call. Generally, I have used WiFi to connect my Blackberry and PC, thanks to open coffee shop networks.

While the grass always seems greener elsewhere, it has been worthwhile looking beyond raw penetration numbers and arbitrary price baskets to see how people are using their means of communications.

Like many travellers, I have done my part to drive up international mobile penetration rates. I have SIM cards for the UK, the US and a couple other countries where family members travel frequently enough to keep the numbers active. It is an option available that makes it easier for locals to reach me when I am in their country and save money when I am making local calls.

Much has been written about international mobile roaming prices – keep in mind that Europeans cross into other countries more frequently than we Canadians travel inter-provincially. So it is not uncommon for people to carry multiple SIMs in order to arbitrage various rate plans.

I hope you have had time to unwind with family this summer. I’m going to be taking one last break – exercising some international roaming this week – before getting back to work after Labour Day, starting to put together the preliminary program for The 2012 Canadian Telecom Summit, taking place June 4-6, 2012 in Toronto. Send us a note if you want to get sponsorship information or to propose a speaker or a panel discussion theme for one of the break-out sessions.

Another voice is calling for enhancing demand for a digital Canada. Today’s Globe and Mail has an interview with Google Canada chief Chris O’Neill who observes:

We estimate that there are roughly two million small businesses in this country, and less than half of them have a website. That is a problem [because] consumers are out there actively looking for what businesses offer, and it really is a missed opportunity.

He suggests that Canadians’ lower risk tolerance is part of the problem.

As I have written often on these pages, it is too easy to focus on the supply side – the networks – without enough time being given to looking at conditions that will stimulate demand. Increasing adoption of digital technologies, encouraging businesses to establish a web presence, attacking disincentives for private sector investment.

What else should be part of Canada’s national digital strategy?

The CRTC has approved changes to the way the National Contribution Fund operates, reducing some of the paperwork required for smaller competitive phone companies.

The Canadian Portable Contribution Consortium (CPCC) had proposed raising the contribution eligible revenue threshold for requiring audited statements to $100M (from the current $50M). Also, all companies that currently receive a local phone subsidy are required to provide audited figures; CPCC proposed requiring audits only if the level of subsidy will exceed $0.5M in a given year. Companies that do not exceed the audit thresholds are only required to file an affidavit attesting to the accuracy of their figures.

Finally, the CPCC has incorporated standardized audit requirements by reference to the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), thereby ensuring that its requirements are kept consistent with CICA on an ongoing basis, rather than needing future amendments to be approved by the CRTC.

Telecom Decision CRTC 2011-529 includes a copy of the complete procedures guide. The changes provide welcome relief to the costs of regulatory compliance.