Concerns about IP

July 13, 2007

CATACATA issued a press release on Wednesday, expressing concerns on the issue of Canadian companies protecting their intellectual property rights in the wake of a recent Federal Court case:

A recent Federal Court decision on new disclosure requirements for Patents will have an extremely negative impact on Canadian research and innovation if not overturned on appeal.

According to CATA, the Court’s decision is not consistent with existing Canadian law, nor U.S. and EU law as well as possibly violating international IP treaties.

Contrast that position with the video on Michael Geist‘s site:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TloG6qL3gg]
Michael’s tag line says

Canadian policy should prioritize Canadian interests, not those of foreign governments and lobby groups.

What is the relationship between creative (movie and music) intellectual property rights and those of technology innovators?

CATA is a Canadian industry lobby group, representing the advanced technology industry. Shouldn’t Canadian policy reflect the interests of Canadian innovators?

To what extent are these interests inconsistent with those of the majority of the population?

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Bracebridge WiFi part II

January 25, 2017

I wrote last week about the Bracebridge Business Improvement Area (BIA) wireless network plans. The RFP to cover WiFi for downtown has now been released on the town’s website.

The RFP calls for Downtown Bracebridge to offer complimentary WiFi services at narrowband rates, offer business members internet access, install wireless speakers and add webcams for security.

Videotron tops half-million mark for telephony

July 12, 2007
VideotronVideotron sent me a press release this morning announcing that it has now surpassed the half million mark for its cable based voice telephony service.

According to a 2007 survey conducted last March by Léger Marketing, our client satisfaction rating for this product increased to 96%. This high customer satisfaction is related to the fact that a large number of consumers were looking for a reliable alternative to traditional telephone service

Videotron isn’t alone in demonstrating reliability for cable-based voice service. According to Network World, JD Powers’ 2007 Residential Regional Telephone Customer Satisfaction Study is showing:

Cable companies lead the customer satisfaction rankings for telephone service in six U.S. regions for the first time.

The report suggests that cable companies are proving to be “tough competition” for the telcos. In a trend that has also been experienced in Canada, the study found that 86% of cable-based voice subscribers also subscribe to data services from the same provider — an increase from 2006.

Videotron is now adding enhancements to its voice service.

Videotron’s cable telephone subscribers will soon be able to take advantage of the softphone telephone service, allowing them to better manage their calls and all their communications, including video phone service in the near future.

It continues to apply pressure to traditional telco business models. I’ll be suggesting the need for a bold step forward for telcos in a posting over the next few days.

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iPhone as a “babe” magnet

July 12, 2007

The StreetTheStreet.com has a video clip on why people are rushing to stores to buy the iPhone. According to their correspondent, Cliff Mason, it is a babe magnet. Cliff bought his at the 24-hour Apple Store in mid-town Manhattan, with no line up, at 9:00pm on the first day.

All the women on line, all the women around the register formed a circle around me, which does not happen very often…

it is a great reason to buy it. Forget about all this like it’s a 2.5G phone not a 3G phone, you’re not gonna be able to access the internet. Who cares about that stuff? It looks really cool…

Hmmmm. Is this what it all comes down to?

Who cares? Where can I get one?

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How competitive is Canadian wireless?

July 11, 2007

In Saturday’s National Post, Peter Nowak reported that RIM wants to see Canadian carriers offer more competitive data plans. Don Morrison is quoted in that article as saying:

We haven’t seen a carrier yet take up the banner of really going after the mass market. We think it’s to their benefit.

In yesterday’s National Post, Peter cites Michael Geist‘s blog which asserts that high fees for data services are what is holding back Canada’s introduction of the iPhone.

The barrier to the iPhone in Canada is not Apple. Rather, it is the lack of wireless competition that, as now RIM and Google both note, leads to pricing that places Canadians at a significant disadvantage compared with other developed countries.

I think that assertion is a little far reaching. If our data prices are holding back the Canadian launch of iPhone, why isn’t the iPhone available anywhere else in the world either?

The reply comments by the Competition Bureau in the AWS auction consultation address the state of competition from a legal perspective – particularly, competition law.

These sentences, extracted from the submission, may be an appropriate summary of the views of the Competition Bureau:

it is the removal of foreign ownership restrictions, not auction intervention, that may be the more powerful instrument of competition.

Given the present restrictions, however, intervention may still be appropriate if domestic entrants can provide effective competition, given the incentives of incumbents [to prevent entry by bidding their economic value for the spectrum plus a premium representing their potential loss of profit]

The paper represents a discussion, from the viewpoint of competition law, of the first round of submissions from all of the parties.

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