As many Canadians are looking back second guessing and bemoaning at the decision to prorogue parliament, I’d prefer to look forward and ask what will be on the agenda for the next session of Parliament. When the speech from the Throne is delivered, will the government set out a bold vision for Canada’s digital future?

Over the past few years, various panels have delivered reports examining communications and competition policy. Numerous voices, including our own, have called for the creation of national digital strategy.

South of the border, the FCC has been charged with the responsibility to develop a bold vision for the US. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the FCC has been tasked with creating a National Broadband Plan that

shall seek to ensure all people of the United States have access to broadband capability and shall establish benchmarks for meeting that goal.

Can a government – in Canada or the US – set out a vision that is bold, yet affordable, while creating sustainable leadership for the benefit of a next generation economy?

On the afternoon panels of Tuesday, June 8, 2010 The 2010 Canadian Telecom Summit will explore ICT strategies around the world and host a discussion on the elements of Canada’s own National Digital Strategy.

Have you registered yet?

The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecom Services has a new logo and a new web presence, part of its program to enhance public awareness of the Commission.

The website features an easy to use interface for opening a new complaint.

The new website was delivered on-time, according to the Public Awareness plan set out by the agency.

We recognize that public awareness of our existence and the service that we offer is crucial to our effectiveness in the marketplace. Thus we are committed to working with all of our stakeholders, and particularly consumers, consumer advocacy groups, and our telecommunications service provider member companies (TSPs), to:

• increase public awareness of the existence of CCTS, our role and mandate, and the dispute resolution service that we offer consumers, both individual and small business; and
• add clarity to the internal complaint-handling processes offered by our member companies – to make the process more transparent and effective.

Over the holidays, a complaint was filed with the CRTC by a consumer agency with respect to a carrier overcharging some customers for touch-tone services. When I read the file, it seemed to me that the complaint was suited for handling by CCTS.

It will be a file worth monitoring to understand the venue selection.

A story in Wireless Week says that venture capitalists are being cautious with investments in wireless. A survey conducted by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) reported that 37 percent of respondents said venture capital investment in the wireless sector would decrease in 2010.

It is one thing to have growth in wireless and new media and internet services; it is another matter to figure out how to make money at it.

One of the afternoon panels on Monday, June 7, 2010 at The 2010 Canadian Telecom Summit will look at the next generation of business models. A session called Business Models 3.0 examines the financial implications for content and carriage.

You can now visit the conference website to take a look at the preliminary program on-line.

Early bird rates expire at the end of February. Have you registered yet?

I wrote earlier today about a positive customer service experience with HP. I contrast that with a series of missteps that characterize my interactions with Direct Energy.

For more than 3 weeks, one of our major appliances has been out of service. The first delay in repairs was because the technician’s truck wouldn’t start one morning. Then the part had to be ordered and apparently, their supply depot needed to hand craft the part from blocks of plastic that had not been harvested from the rain forests or where ever. The part was delivered to the technician which took another week – it isn’t clear to me what took a week, unless it got returned by the post office for insufficient postage. Then, the technician who was supposed to finally show up today called in sick.

The caller from Direct Energy said that they can’t send a different technician – the sick guy has the part. Will he show up for work tomorrow? Will the part fix? Will I renew the service contract?

I’m gonna call my dentist to get my fillings replaced – it will be much more pleasant than dealing with the Direct Energy call centre.

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Update [January 26, 12:15 pm]
The Direct Energy technician returned today and successfully repaired the machine, including some heroics on sealing another source of a leak that had not been detected on the first service call. We’re back in service. Special thanks to JT at headquarters for letting me know there is follow-up to look at the process breakdowns on this file.

I generally approach dealing with customer support centres with all of the same enthusiasm as going to the dentist. It isn’t going to get any better by putting it off, so take a deep breath and get on with it.

I had an especially pleasant experience with HP over the weekend.

The battery in one of our computers was indicating that it was “plugged in, not charging”. Not a good thing for a portable device.

The battery check software tool showed a failure and added “This may be covered by your warranty.”

It took just 15 seconds on HP’s on-line chat service to be connected with an agent and in less than 10 minutes, we were setting up arrangements for a replacement part to be delivered later this week.

I know that this is the way warranty service is supposed to work – it’s just nice to see when it actually does.

We have a session at The 2010 Canadian Telecom Summit looking at Billing and Customer Information Systems: Increasing loyalty and revenues. Have you registered yet?