Not a bad start. Promoting affordable advanced communications facilities from Whitehorse, YK to Witless Bay, NF. That is something people can understand.

Enhancing the efficiency of telecom markets? I think that most members of the general would say: not my problem – don’t care, until we translate improved telecom market efficiency into lower prices for telecom services.

We can certainly talk about productivity of the Canadian economy. People might be interested. Does that mean better jobs? Lower costs? Work at home?

The third goal is one that crosses political lines and will lead to active debates – there is something in there for everyone. Enhancing public safety and security sounds good – at least everyone has an opinion; protecting personal privacy and limiting public nuisance are important and difficult issues. We have recently seen the announcement of Canada’s major ISPs agreeing to block content identified by Cybertip.ca to be illegal.

All of these are goals worth discussing. Issues worth debating.

Are we on the road toward raising the interest of the general public? How about you?

Everyone likes talking about consultative sales in the enterprise space. How do you get the customer to take the time to talk openly about their business challenges?

How does the sales team get in front of an executive team in a frank and open discussion about problems and solutions?

How is this for an opener?

If you’re like most business leaders today, you have at least one strategic initiative underway that is being enabled by significant technology investment. Yet you cannot predict whether your investment is on track to deliver business value. That’s a big problem.

TELUS has introduced a tool called BVIC to help determine the Business Value of Integrated Communications. It is a web-based tool that measures an initiative against 30 best practices for ICT projects.

Click to try BVIC. Use “business6” as the user name. Contact me and I will send you a password to try the system out. The resultant report should help the TELUS sales team generate interest among all of the corporate officers.

TELUS is running its business innovation exhibition at the Toronto Congress Centre today. BVIC is one of many stations being displayed.

Technorati Tags:
TELUS, BVIC

I have never been one to shy away from an opportunity to take a shot at the CRTC. That is a fact to which regular readers of this site can easily attest. I think taking shots at the CRTC is a basic part of our heritage. We drink coffee, eat donuts, kvetch about the CRTC while r-r-r-olling up the r-r-rim.

But the editorial in today’s itbusiness.ca Update crossed the lines of fairness.

I’ll leave aside many of the attacks that don’t merit the effort to address, nor the attention, other than to dismiss the comments as petty rants. But the body of the article is just void of fact-based criticism.

Case in point:

The single most significant moment in the CRTC’s history came earlier this year at a telecommunications conference which staged a “regulatory blockbuster” roundtable featuring the main incumbents and their cableco rivals. Theirs was a spirited, sometimes acrimonious debate, and it was followed up by Industry Minister Maxime Bernier’s appearance where he said he would steer the CRTC away from regulating in favour of market forces. Where was Dalfen?

I am honoured that the writer considers that The 2006 Canadian Telecom Summit hosted the single most significant moment (wait ’til you see The 2007 Canadian Telecom Summit, June 11-13). But, where was the Chair? Uh, he was the closing speaker at that event. And he spoke at each of the previous 2 events as well. We have photos to prove it. The Globe and Mail even had a story about it.

The editorial concludes with:

Dalfen’s successor has to do more than speak behind press releases. He or she needs to prove not only well-versed in emerging technologies but capable of capturing the attention of the Canadian public. … The next CRTC leader needs to be a voice that cannot – will not – be ignored.

Can anyone really say that our current chair has a voice that can be ignored? C’mon.

Technorati Tags:
CRTC, itbusiness.ca

What is the best way to ensure you get a building properly wired for advanced telecom? In the case of the new Vancouver Convention Centre expansion, you get the official supplier of telecom services for the 2010 Olympics to do it for you.

Bell Canada announced it will partner to deliver the world’s most technologically advanced meeting facility when the convention centre expansion is completed. The facility will be the media and broadcast centre during the 2010 Olympics.

Building access can often be a thorny issue for carriers. How do you develop business strategies that make sense for the building operator and service providers while providing infrastructure and opportunities for both to deliver superior customer service?

Technorati Tags:
Bell Canada, Vancouver Convention Centre, Olympics