The program for The Canadian Telecom Summit is continuing to develop and as of the end of the early bird registration period this weekend, we are encouraged by the positive response of the industry despite these challenging economic times.

Once again, there are lots of issues that should lead to boisterous discussion, including the issue of traffic management by Canada’s leading ISPs. That discussion, only a few weeks before the CRTC holds its own public hearings into the issue, will feature Chris Libertelli of Skype, Mike Lee from Rogers and Dave Caputo of Sandvine.

The wireless industry is producing the brightest lights shining optimism onto an otherwise bleak Canadian economy.

We have just confirmed that Mike Lazaridis, President and co-CEO of Research in Motion, will deliver one of the keynote addresses to the delegates attending the conference.

This year’s Canadian Telecom Summit will introduce a number of the new faces, including leadership from Public Mobile (Alek Krstajic) and Globalive (Tony Lacavera and Ken Campbell) and we will also hear from Bernard Lord, the new head of Canada’s wireless industry association.

The full conference brochure can be downloaded here [ pdf, 284 KB].

Global communications industry leaders are coming to Toronto from June 15-17 to join Canada’s most important annual gathering. Have you registered yet?

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Canadian Telecom Summit

The latest edition of Measuring the Information Society, produced by the International Telecommunications Union, features a new ITU ICT Development Index.

The Index looks at the level of accessibility and use of Information and Communications Technologies in more than 150 countries and compares 2002 and 2007 results.

The Report is hefty: a 108 page book [ pdf, 1.53 MB] with lots of interesting information.

Among results that may surprise some observers, Canada is in the top 20 countries for mobile service affordability, and Canada ranks 2nd (to the US) in terms of broadband affordability.

I suspect we will have follow-up analysis and commentary over the coming days.

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About 6 weeks ago, I wrote about Cybersurf winning an application in front of the CRTC, only to be stymied in getting the ILECs to follow through.

That win follows a lengthy period of billing disputes that Cybersurf has been engaged in with Bell. Time appears to have run out and Cybersurf has signed a letter of intent to sell its core business, including its user base and assets related to its high speed, long distance and VoIP services in Canada. Cybersurf’s president and CEO, Paul Mercia, didn’t mince words in the official press release:

This is primarily due to the stress the company has had to endure as a result of the prolonged and on-going billing dispute with Bell Canada… There’s no telling at this rate how much longer it will go on, and the Company has mounting legal costs and demands on its resources. Because of Bell’s overbilling and claim for overstated receivables, Cybersurf had accrued millions of dollars in payables and liabilities and was not able to secure financing when it was available; and now even with the Company’s positive financial outlook the current economic climate and adverse market conditions have made it impossible for Cybersurf to raise financing on equitable terms.

This kind of language reads as though it is setting up a case for future action. Cybersurf also took aim at the CRTC, saying that Commission processes are taking too long.

The company is not going away quietly. I doubt that this is the last we will hear from them.

I watched a video from the SaveOurNet.ca folks and I was struck by a comment that followed a clip of Industry Minister Jim Prentice saying:

we have a well advanced internet system in this country, Mr. Speaker. It is not publicly regulated and this point in time we will continue to leave the matter between consumers on the one hand and internet service providers on the other.

Steve Anderson (credited as the founder of SaveOurNet.ca) says

So the danger of that is that Canada could become the backwater of internet innovation because companies could move to the US because they know they have the open internet there.

He goes on to suggest that Canadian politicians and regulators are looking south to follow suit.

Actually, as I have written many times before, Canada already has stronger rules enshrined in our legislation than our neighbours to the south, something that keeps getting overlooked in our zeal to impose additional regulation on the internet.

There is an important concept in Anderson’s statement – the migration to the US. In the old economy, to move to another country, you packed up the office and people and moved bricks and mortar to a new place. In the internet world, you simply host your content on servers bearing a flag of convenience. Your developers may work around the world and come together in the ether of the virtual world.

Do most users have any idea where websites are physically located? Do they (or should they) care? A digital presence is at once global. As a content publisher, if you are anywhere, you are everywhere. As a result, there is global competition for hosting. If you don’t like the prices or terms and conditions being offered by Canadian ISPs, then host your stuff elsewhere.

Isn’t that competitive dynamic more powerful than any regulator?

Our friends at Arnold & Porter have released a paper [ pdf, 197KB] that looks at the “non-discrimination” and “network interconnection” obligations attached to the US broadband stimulus program. In particular, funding recipients are required to adhere to obligations at least as strong as those found in the FCC’s Internet Policy Statement [found here].

As we have written a number of times, the FCC’s 2005 policy statement is not particularly onerous by Canadian standards, which already captured these concepts in legislation in the Telecom Act. The A&P; paper raises some interesting questions, such as the potential for applicability of these obligations to wireless networks, in light of the fact that, to date, they have only been applied within the wireline context (ie. to telco and cable networks).

We have a session looking at Building Broadband at The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit, taking place in June in Toronto. The session features the leaders of Barrett Xplore and Sasktel, companies that are profitably providing universal broadband in some of the most remote areas in Canada. In addition, Ian Collins of Cogeco Data Services and Derek Slater of Google will provide views of the role of fibre in urban residential and business broadband. Mike Dixon, of Motorola’s Wireless Networks group rounds out the panel.

Affordable, universal access to broadband service is an achievable goal. Accelerating its deployment delivers immediate jobs constructing the networks as well as the long term economic benefits of a more connected populace.

Early bird registration rates are available until the end of this week. Have you registered yet for The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit?

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