Two weeks ago, Michael Geist told the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications that “the Canadian telecommunications scene is in a state of crisis.”

I just don’t buy the doom and gloom portrayed in this testimony. It struck me as a conclusion based on statements that were well past their “best before” date.

Take for example the comments on the Blackberry in Canada:

Research In Motion has expressed frustration with Canadian pricing, predicting that carriers could sell eight or nine times more BlackBerrys if they lowered the data prices to levels found elsewhere.

People really need to be careful about old quotes like this. They are easily taken out of context.

Consider the fact that Canadians are already the world leaders in per capita ownership of Blackberrys. According to Jim Balsillie:

Canada was the birthplace of the BlackBerry platform and Canada continues to generate the highest per capita penetration of BlackBerry smartphones in the world today. We are fortunate to be located in a country with a thriving wireless industry that continues to offer businesspeople and consumers world-class wireless data services. RIM works with hundreds of carriers internationally and I am proud to say that the Canadian carriers and our collective success are well respected within the worldwide industry.

Great superlatives that go a little over the top. But at the core, it begs the question: if Canadian wireless data pricing is so out of whack, how are we leading the world in Blackberry penetration?

More stale dated material is found in the example of why we supposedly need new net neutrality laws. Once again, he pulled out the old TELUS union website blocking – an incident that happened 4 years ago and one that continues to serve as the poster-child for Canada’s net neutrality movement.

Several years ago, TELUS blocked access to a union [sic] that was supporting a website during a labour dispute. In the process, it blocked more than 600 other websites.

I actually consider this example as clear evidence that no new net neutrality laws are required. Although there was no CRTC proceeding, the TELUS incident appears to have been a violation of Section 36 of the Telecom Act, even though TELUS eventually obtained court sanctions that forced the site to be taken down. Moreover, the carrier has been publicly criticized repeatedly, and they have made it clear they will not take such measures in the future.

The marketplace and current laws worked to resolve the issue pretty quickly.

As I pull out of my driveway each morning, I watch people run through the all-way stop sign in my neighbourhood. Do we need new traffic laws to stop that?

No new laws are needed; just enforcement of the existing one.

A crisis in communications? Hardly.

For a more complete perspective on the state of Canada’s communications industry, you should attend The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit, which opens on Monday in Toronto.

Have you registered yet?

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Canadian Telecom Summit

Following last year’s success, the Israel Economic Mission is bringing a delegation of telecom companies from Israel to Canada to attend The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit, taking place next week at the Toronto Congress Centre.

The mission highlights Israel’s cutting edge telecommunications solutions and is intended to help forge strategic partnerships between companies in the two countries.

The companies in the Israeli delegation offer new products & services in:

• Fixed/Mobile Convergence Solutions Including WiFi & WiMAX
• Service Delivery Platforms and Mobile Applications
• Location Based Services
• Software tools for mobile application testing
• Broadband & Optical Networking Technologies
• Network Management Cross-Platform media messaging systems
• Intelligent application delivery solutions

As you know, Israel is regarded internationally as a center of product innovation and excellence in the field of Telecommunications. As such, it is a natural fit for companies which are positioned at the cutting edge of technological development.

MTS Allstream has announced a deal with Sprint Nextel that gives it Sprint’s handset lineups, vendor relationships and buying power.

The agreement also provides access to information about Sprint’s technology, product development and planning which will assist in further developing its own wireless service offerings in Manitoba.

When long distance competition started in Canada in the early 1990’s, US carrier agreements helped Canadian companies accelerate their development with these kinds of agreements. MTS Allstream has a strong position in its home market, but with less than half a million subscribers, it has less than one percent of Sprint Nextel’s customers.

MTS Allstream CEO Pierre Blouin is speaking on Tuesday at The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit next week. Consumer Markets division president Kelvin Shepherd will be participating on a panel on Wednesday looking at the Broadband Connected Home.

Have you registered yet?

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MTS Allstream, Pre, Canadian Telecom Summit

Can a portal operator discriminate and provide a preference to display in-house content instead of material available from other suppliers?

That seems to be a question arising from last week’s new media decision by the CRTC.

During the proceeding, a number of content providers, including Pelmorex (The Weather Channel) argued

that despite new media’s promise of open access, there are gatekeepers in the new media environment with the power to give certain content providers preferred access to their platforms and customer base. During the Proceeding, this issue was most frequently discussed with respect to wireless carriers that offer walled garden mobile entertainment packages.

So the CRTC determined that the imposition of an undue preference provision would be appropriate for mobile portals.

Despite assurances from the wireless industry that walled gardens are being replaced with open Internet access, the Commission notes that closed services are the norm in advance of greater mainstream adoption of more sophisticated devices. As such, the process of selecting content for those services must not subject unaffiliated programming undertakings to undue disadvantage with respect to reaching mobile audiences.

What are the implications for mobile operators?

More points of discussion for The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit, opening Monday in Toronto. Have you registered yet?

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new media, Canadian Telecom Summit

In a filing to the Federal Communications Commission released late on Monday, AT&T; set a target for 100 percent broadband availability in the United States by 2014.

Included in the plan are some points that caught my eye, including a recognition that work needs to be done on the demand side.

of those that do have access, nearly half of them do not purchase it for a range of reasons, including lack of necessary Internet-enabled devices, affordability issues and relevancy. While setting a goal of achieving universal access should be part of a comprehensive national broadband strategy, an inclusive approach must emphasize the critical importance of increasing broadband adoption.

To address the demand side, the plan includes a call for providing training and public access to broadband services; economic assistance for the acquisition of broadband services and equipment; and incentives for the development of technology and content aimed at specific users’ needs.

More details are expected to be released on AT&T;’s Public Policy website.

Building Broadband, is the topic of a special panel at next week’s The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit.

Have you registered yet?

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