Search Results for: incentives

Getting ready to fly back to Canada, I can reflect on some international communications experiences. I have been overseas for the past week visiting my daughter. It has been interesting to travel in a country that enjoys mobile penetration of more than 140%, despite prices that appear to be in the same order of magnitude as ours in Canada. My daughter’s voice and data plan is around $70 per month, which takes about 3 and a half hours to earn. Her plan includes 1 GB of data, with extra charges for more. She is shopping for a better plan, no different from her friends back in Toronto.

Mobile phones are everywhere and competition appears to be vibrant, with number portability and switching incentives. But using any measure of affordability, prices are much, much higher as a share of local wages. So, the local government is taking steps to add more competitors to the marketplace.

While most areas have solid connectivity, 3.5G is not prevalent and no one is talking about LTE.

I kept connected with a local SIM card, in part to avoid roaming charges, but mainly so that friends and family over here would have a local number that they would call. Generally, I have used WiFi to connect my Blackberry and PC, thanks to open coffee shop networks.

While the grass always seems greener elsewhere, it has been worthwhile looking beyond raw penetration numbers and arbitrary price baskets to see how people are using their means of communications.

Another voice is calling for enhancing demand for a digital Canada. Today’s Globe and Mail has an interview with Google Canada chief Chris O’Neill who observes:

We estimate that there are roughly two million small businesses in this country, and less than half of them have a website. That is a problem [because] consumers are out there actively looking for what businesses offer, and it really is a missed opportunity.

He suggests that Canadians’ lower risk tolerance is part of the problem.

As I have written often on these pages, it is too easy to focus on the supply side – the networks – without enough time being given to looking at conditions that will stimulate demand. Increasing adoption of digital technologies, encouraging businesses to establish a web presence, attacking disincentives for private sector investment.

What else should be part of Canada’s national digital strategy?

When Canada went to the polls in May of this year, the election and subsequent cabinet shuffle delayed the release of a National Digital Strategy. Despite all of the best intentions for a Spring 2011 release of the federal strategy, it was to be expected that the new Industry Minister would seek to put his imprimatur on a piece that largely falls under his mandate together with his colleagues, the Ministers for Heritage and Human Resources. After all, telecommunications and the Telecom Act are within the purview of Minister Paradis.

Still, consider that many of the areas most commonly assumed to be part of a digital strategy actually fall under provincial responsibility: education, health care, social safety nets. There are a number of provinces facing elections this fall – perhaps providing incentives for provincial parties to turn their minds to progressive election agendas.

Canada’s largest province, Ontario will have an election on October 6. We will be watching the platforms of the major parties (Liberal, Conservative and NDP). Manitoba’s provincial elections are two days earlier (October 4); PEI residents are voting October 3; Newfoundland and Labrador voters go to the polls October 11; Saskatchewan’s provincial elections are a month later (November 7).

Will the federal government stay on the sidelines with the release of its national digital strategy in order to avoid conflicts with Ontario provincial election? Will any of Canada’s provinces scoop the federal government with the release of a comprehensive digital strategy?

The NDP became the last of the major parties to release its platform [pdf, 1.1MB] and its digital policy certainly differentiates it from the rest. It sets out 6 points:

• We will apply the proceeds from the advanced wireless spectrum auction to ensure all Canadians, no matter where they live, will have quality high-speed broadband internet access;
• We will expect the major internet carriers to contribute financially to this goal;
• We will rescind the 2006 Conservative industry-oriented directive to the CRTC and direct the regulator to stand up for the public interest, not just the major telecommunications companies;
• We will enshrine “net neutrality” in law, end price gouging and “net throttling,” with clear rules for Internet Service Providers (ISPs), enforced by the CRTC;
• We will prohibit all forms of usage-based billing (UBB) by Internet Service Providers (ISPs);
• We will introduce a bill on copyright reform to ensure that Canada complies with its international treaty obligations, while balancing consumers’ and creators’ rights.

Further, under the heading of Home-grown Film and TV Production, there are 4 additional points, including preservation of foreign ownership restrictions:

• We will ensure Canadian TV and telecom networks remain Canadian-owned by maintaining effective regulations on foreign ownership;
• We will re-focus the mandate of the CRTC to promote and protect Canadian cultural industries;
• We will provide sustained funding for the Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada, enhance federal film incentives and develop a targeted strategy for the promotion of domestic films in Canada;
• We will set license requirements for broadcasters based on clear, binding and enforced performance standards for broadcasters, including increased Canadian drama.

What does this mean in practice? Under an NDP government, there could be a new internet services tax – internet service providers will be taxed to fund some kind of universal broadband services fund, meaning consumer prices will go up. The NDP will regulate internet business models, by prohibiting “all forms of usage-based billing”.

Should I be troubled by the NDP confusing the AWS and 700 MHz spectrum bands? For $4B, you would think the party would learn a little bit of jargon.

Your perspectives?

It’s election time in Canada. I have a wish for the political parties: tell us clearly your vision to lead Canada in the 21st century digital world.

It seems to me that we need to stop the dithering around developing Digital Economy Strategies and actually put a stake in the ground.

Last week, Network World asked me to comment on what we should be looking for in the upcoming election campaign. I pointed out that we have studied communications issues enough, with the 2006 Telecom Policy Review Panel, the 2008 Competition Policy Review, together with last year’s consultation on foreign direct investment and the digital economy consultation, combined with the consultations and hearing for the recent Anti-Spam bill and the soon-to-die Copyright Bill, and finally the recent parliamentary Industry committee review of wholesale high speed Internet access.

Given all of that analysis over the past few years, it is hard to understand why we couldn’t have clear platform statements from each of the parties setting out their positions on foreign telecommunications investment, telecom and broadcast regulatory reform, copyright reform, incentives for investment in telecommunications facilities and development of digital media.

A comprehensive digital vision would include how we get connectivity to Canada’s lowest income earners, starting with ensuring all school aged children have access to computers with internet at home; how we will develop digital literacy in under-represented segments; and increased measurements, reporting and tracking to objectives.

I will be disappointed if all we hear about are current hot topics. That should be a signal that the candidates and parties lack vision and will be reactive, not proactive in their policy development.

Canadians have been waiting too long for digital policy leadership.