For the first time since I started writing this blog (in 2006), Canada will be governed by a majority government. There have been successive governments led by Liberal Paul Martin and Conservative Stephen Harper who were restricted in their ability to implement their agendas by the lack of votes in the House. A number of years ago, I met with a local Liberal MP to ask about his perspectives on the report from the Telecom Policy Review Panel. I suggested that there could be an interesting opportunity for the Opposition to work in cooperation with the Government, given that the Panel was created by a Liberal government and delivered its report to the Conservatives. “Tut, tut – that isn’t how we work,” was his response. Well, these are different times now.

Prime Minister Harper will now enjoy the confidence of Parliament to advance his platform; this could lead to significant changes in the advancement of Canada’s Digital Economy. What will a Conservative majority mean for policy and legislation impacting the communications and information technology sector? Last night, Cartt.ca editor Greg O’Brien tweeted:

So… What happens now with telecom foreign ownership? the CBC? #UBB? Copyright? What else on the telecom/TV/culture front?? #crtc?

Add lawful intercept, spectrum policy, the Policy Direction, vertical integration, Canadian content in a new media environment, etc. What would you add to the agenda?

Following up on earlier posts [such as here and here], I observed that

Canadians voted pro-internet: for only party saying ‘net evolves without gov’t heavy hand; consumers best protected by competition #cdntech

Prior to the election, the government was preparing to release its national strategy for a digital economy. I have written extensively on that theme in the past few months. looking for a comprehensive agenda, as a search will reveal. At The 2011 Canadian Telecom Summit, our conference theme is Building The Foundation For Canada’s Digital Economy. Attracting the senior-most professionals from around the globe, The 2011 Canadian Telecom Summit provides a forum for exchanging views, sharing ideas, challenging assumptions and planning for the future.

Canada’s premiere communications industry event is just 4 weeks away. Have you registered yet?

Download the conference brochure here.

We are thrilled to announce that Bell Canada and BCE President and CEO, George Cope will be the luncheon keynote speaker on June 2 at The 2011 Canadian Telecom Summit. This year, our conference theme is Building The Foundation For Canada’s Digital Economy.

The Canadian Telecom Summit is the foremost annual event for those with vested interests in the potential for Information and Communications Technology to continue to creating value for all constituents and stakeholders.

Attracting the senior-most professionals from around the globe, The Canadian Telecom Summit is the forum for the broad cross-section of stakeholders to meet, exchange views, share ideas, challenge assumptions and plan for the future.

The event opens on May 31 with a keynote address by Rogers Communications president Rob Bruce. A total of 17 of the industry’s most influential personalities will present keynote addresses over the 3 days, joined by 50 thought leaders participating in panels that explore issues in greater depth.

Wednesday June 1 will include an address by Videotron chief Robert Depatie and a conversation with CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein. These precede our annual “no holds barred” debate of regulatory and policy issues. TELUS CFO Bob McFarlane will speak at lunch on June 1.

The Canadian Telecom Summit is Canada’s pre-eminent gathering of the information technology and telecommunications industries and those interested in the digital economy.

Attracting the senior-most professionals from around the globe, The 2011 Canadian Telecom Summit will provide a forum for the broad cross-section of stakeholders to exchange views, share ideas, challenge assumptions and plan for the future.

The 2011 Canadian Telecom Summit reviews where we have been as an industry, provides and understanding of the dynamics that propel it and forecast future trends and expected developments. Now in its tenth year, attendance is a must for telecom and IT industry professionals corporate users, carriers and manufacturers financial analysts, consultants and investors.

Canada’s premiere communications industry event is just 4 weeks away. Have you registered yet? Download the conference brochure here.

Last night, I attended the Toronto performance of Comic Vision, part of a series of 5 events in support of vision research and the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Over the past 10 years, the Foundation Fighting Blindness has raised $3M to fund research into cures for retinal diseases, thanks to the support of these events. The event is supported by a number of the most prominent names in Canadian telecom: Bell, Nokia, Ledcor, HTC, Huawei, Samsung, RIM, Nokia Siemens Networks. As a result, there were a lot of friendly faces among those in attendance.

There is a long history of involvement by telecommunications professionals with organizations that support the visually impaired. The Telephone Pioneers’ beeping baseball was among the first initiatives of the organization that I was exposed to when I got into the industry 30 years ago.

There are still tickets available for the two remaining shows next week: the Vancouver event on May 4; and, Calgary on May 5. It makes for a fun evening – try to attend.

 

Monday is election day in Canada. Please go out to vote.

Despite the efforts of many commentators and media, a national digital strategy was at best a marginal issue in the campaign. Digital issues did not make the cut of questions debated by the leaders which in many ways was unfortunate.

I don’t think that Open Media has a monopoly on assessing whether a political party is pro-Internet and the group has used the label “pro-Internet” to refer to parties that have policies that strike me as contrary to the interests of a progressive, innovative and open internet.

The Green Party turned out to be the earliest supporter and promoter of Open Media‘s pro-Internet project, but there is no mention of “digital” nor “internet” in the Green’s platform. How pro-Internet can they be?

The NDP has carried a pro-Internet label from Open Media, but this is the party that has said it would impose greater government controls on Internet content than perhaps any democracy on the planet. In its responses to the Open Media Digital Future Survey, the NDP has clarified its platform statements on carrier matching funds: the party would impose a $500M per year tax on the major telecommunications companies to support a $1B per year universal broadband fund. If applied in a competitively neutral manner, this would raise broadband prices by about $4 per month or nearly 10%. Not sure how this can be seen to help with broadband adoption or affordability.

The Liberals have proudly proclaimed that it has the most candidates who have signed up for the Open Media pledge. Its technology critic was caught in the heat of an online chat supporting functional separation and couldn’t back away, although the party has issued a reassuring statement: “carriers that invest heavily in the advanced services and infrastructure of tomorrow deserve the chance to earn a fair return.”.

And the Conservatives have remained largely silent on digital issues, save a rant on the elusive iPod tax. Preferring to let their platform statements and pre-election record do most of the speaking for the party, the Conservatives would not engage with Open Media, refusing to take the bait from the Twitt-iverse that sought to extract additional information or promises.

On Monday evening, we will learn the outcome of the election and which policies will prevail. Which party will lead the release of a long overdue national digital strategy? What policy shifts will impact the investment in communications  infrastructure and delivery of content and services.

A month from now, these issues and more will be debated when the leaders of the telecom industry gather in Toronto at The 2011 Canadian Telecom Summit, May 31 – June 2. Prices for registrations increase this weekend. Register today to save more than $250.

Apple launches its white iPhone today. I thought that it is remarkable that the introduction of a new colour (or is it a non-colour) for the shell is a news item. The functionality is the same; the price is the same. We are talking about white plastic versus black.

Such is the world of consumer electronics.

Functionality, power, speed, memory, battery life, megapixels, screen resolution are the stuff of engineers – table stakes for the game.

Winners need to understand, and in some cases create, the consumer trends for the feel, shape, colour, packaging, buzz. A product can fail because of a miss in any one of these areas. Is this a case of beauty over brains? Sizzle over steak? Or is it better characterized as getting the complete package – a gourmet meal where the presentation is as important as the combination of flavours.

Still, I have to wonder if Henry Ford created so much consumer and media interest when he released his first non-black car (was it in midnight blue)?

We’ll be talking about TVs, tablets and smartphones at The 2011 Canadian Telecom Summit. Have you registered yet? Prices go up May 1.