There was considerable press and editorial coverage of Industry Minister Clement’s decision to intervene in the Globalive ownership issue. No need to rehash that ground here. I spoke to a couple reporters from Canadian Press talking about consumer and policy issues.

There was a common thread in the decisions; the government continues to support a model of facilities-based service providers being the means to deliver sustainable competition in world of converged communications.

The three decisions from Friday support a theme of fostering an environment favouring private sector investment in advanced telecommunications infrastructure.

In its decision to send speed-matching back to the CRTC, the Government said that it wants the Commission to consider the impact of its Decision on incentives for investment.

Will Industry Canada keep this in mind when it is developing its auction policy for the next major swath of mobile wireless bandwidth?

IC Schedule – Globalive http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=23985717&access_key=key-11xt7pmkzsdnfisrdx5g&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list

MTS Allstream Order in Council
http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=24015524&access_key=key-1tmo7fmofjsb2dddk1fq&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list

Bell / TELUS Order in Council http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=24015688&access_key=key-bbo0ezlgp1h11zd8gap&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list

Industry Minister Clement has overruled the CRTC and said that Globalive meets the requirements of the Telecom Act to begin operations.

This is not changing foreign ownership restrictions:

Mr. Clement said Friday he is satisfied the debt financing does not constitute foreign ownership and no changes would be required to the company’s organization.

As we suggested earlier, the Order in Council plays to the key difference in foreign ownership definitions in the Broadcast Act versus the Telecom Act. The Telecom Act – which is operative in this instance – is phrased in the double negative: A carrier cannot be controlled by non-Canadians.

That calls for a different standard – a different burden of proof than the positive Canadian control requirements of the Broadcast Act.

Significantly, the Industry Canada Backgrounder makes clear:

In varying the CRTC decision, the Government is not removing, reducing, bending or creating an exception to COC requirements in the telecommunication and broadcasting industries.

About 25 years ago, we lived in North Carolina and dealt with NCNB as our bank. At the time, they had a policy of providing customers with a $5 credit anytime something went wrong. Error on your statement? Five bucks. More than 5 minute wait in line or on the phone? Five bucks.

Now, banks aren’t in business to give away money, so why did NCNB do this?

First off, they wanted to back their service guarantee up with something real. Five dollars bought a whole lot more in 1986 than it does today, so it was a nice goodwill gesture. But more importantly, the bank’s accounting made sure that the department responsible for the error got charged for the error. Financial accountability for the payment helped align priorities for the people responsible for fixing things.

I received a call looking to renew my subscription to a service that I thought I renewed in mid-November. The agent said that they had no record of my November order and told me I would need to call customer care – she had no way to transfer the call.

I hate being told what I “need” to do. I need better service. I don’t need to call; I don’t want to call.

But I called customer care anyway and was told not to worry; everything is set for the next two years.

So now, I wasted my time on two calls: a call that shouldn’t have been made to me; and, a call that I shouldn’t have had to make. Following the NCNB model, I suggested that they add a year to my service and charge the subscription extension to the appropriate department.

Clearly, someone decided that it wasn’t worth it for IT to update the lists for the call centre. If the business case only looks at a few minutes of call centre time, maybe that is true; the customer impact wasn’t being included.

How do you value your customers’ time?

CATA issued an alarming press release a couple days ago, saying “Due to Canadian federal government regulation, Canada has become the world’s worst industrialized country in which to invest.”

Stability and predictability are attributes of a regulatory and policy framework that would be considered favourable for encouraging private sector investment.

We’re running right to the wire with word from the Government on whether it will act on petitions to overturn CRTC decisions from last December. According to the Telecom Act, the clock on those appeals runs out today.

We had written a piece of evidence [ pdf, 1.4MB] that was part of the materials submitted by Bell and Bell Aliant for consideration in these appeals. We concluded saying:

We believe that a policy of fostering facilities-based competition continues to be the approach that best enables the continued evolution of regulation to increasingly rely on market forces to the maximum extent.
…
Government policy should be to stand aside and allow the marketplace to work.

Encouraging investment in next generation access facilities and allowing the competitive access market to determine pricing, rather than regulation.

On the basis of rulings by cabinet on those petitions, can we predict how the government might deal with the Globalive situation? Remember those stability and predictability attributes to encourage investment.

How do the policies of reliance on market forces to the maximum extent and fostering facilities-based competition apply to Globalive?

How will these interventions by cabinet contribute to Canada’s investment environment?

Yesterday, you should have received the first email blast promoting The 2010 Canadian Telecom Summit (June 7-9: registrations are open).

If you didn’t receive an email, then be sure to sign up for our mailing list here, or check your spam filters.

We wanted to let you know that registrations are now open for The 2010 Canadian Telecom Summit, taking place June 7-9, 2010 in Toronto.

Hear from the leaders
Confirmed keynote speakers include a host of Canadian and global industry leaders. Visit the website often to see the program as it continues to develop.

Now celebrating its 9th year, The Canadian Telecom Summit, is Canada’s leading industry event, attracting more than 500 of the most influential people who shape the future direction of communications and information technology in Canada. For 3 full days, The Canadian Telecom Summit delivers thought provoking presentations from the prime movers of the industry. This is your chance to hear from and talk with them in both a structured atmosphere of frank discussion and high-octane idea exchange and schmooze in a more relaxed social setting of genial conversation.

Covering the entire industry
Join us, meet and discuss issues with leaders of equipment suppliers, service providers, policy makers, regulators and major customers. Focus sessions will examine broadband bundles, intelligence on the go from wireless evolution, unified communications, next generation access networks, billing & operations systems and new business models. We have scheduled a special session to explore development of a national digital strategy. As always, we will have our annual regulatory blockbuster and examine all aspects of the evolving field of converged communications and Canada’s increasingly competitive wireless industry.

Plan to attend
If you are interested in telecommunications, IT or broadcasting, you need to attend The 2010 Canadian Telecom Summit. Mark the dates on your calendar: June 7-9. Take advantage of our early bird registration rates by reserving your place now.

See you at The 2010 Canadian Telecom Summit in June!

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