{"id":3893,"date":"2010-09-17T06:51:10","date_gmt":"2010-09-17T10:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=3893"},"modified":"2017-01-24T13:33:49","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T18:33:49","slug":"setting-our-national-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=3893","title":{"rendered":"Setting our national vision"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 10 days<\/a> leading up to the start of Yom Kippur tonight are a time for reflection, a review of the past year.<\/p>\n

I have taken the past week to\u00a0recuperate from some surgery, which provided an opportunity to have narcotics influence the thought process. As a preamble, I wish to\u00a0note that my surgeon recommended not conducting any major legal or financial\u00a0transactions while under the influence. So, I hope this note of reflection doesn’t end up like the epiphanal manuscript from Jerry Maguire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It has been 4 months since the launch<\/a> of Canada’s consultation on the Digital Economy. In that time, we have seen some huge amounts of money allocated for rural broadband by the Broadband Canada<\/a> program and the CRTC’s deferral account<\/a> decision.<\/p>\n

It seems to me that we have been spending a huge amount of money without first having a clear statement of our objectives. What are we trying to accomplish\u00a0by spending this money, with what kind of paramenters to measure success? What is the liberalization of foreign\u00a0investment<\/a> rules trying to accomplish?<\/p>\n

I’m not being facetious here. What is the one-line elevator pitch description of the objective of\u00a0more than a\u00a0half billion dollars (or more) that was committed to extend broadband access over the past few months?<\/p>\n

Without a clear statement of\u00a0our objective, how can we measure whether it was the most effective way to spend the money. Sure, there are regions that\u00a0are now in line to get access to improved connectivity – but\u00a0that doesn’t mean we got value for the money. Are we even heading in the right direction?<\/p>\n

Clearly,\u00a0it has not been to get as many Canadians on-line as possible. If that was the objective, we would be spending more money stimulating demand among the millions of Canadians that already have access to broadband, but have not yet connected.<\/p>\n

Around one in 5 Canadian homes\u00a0doesn’t subscribe to a wireline high speed broadband service that is at their front door. We know<\/a> that\u00a0broadband adoption\u00a0rates are\u00a0skewed toward higher income Canadians.<\/p>\n

So, if our objectives for a digital Canada are geared toward improving economic advantages, shouldn’t we focus on greater digital participation among those Canadians who are already the most economically disadvantaged?<\/p>\n

And if increasing broadband adoption is the primary objective, are our current government programmes consistent with the most effective way to achieve that goal?<\/p>\n

There have been some commentators that have argued that Canada needs a Digital Minister – a single point of\u00a0focus around the Cabinet table. I disagree: this is perhaps one implementation approach, but not the only one. I could argue as forcefully that a government that truly buys into a digital vision could (and should) have a more pervasive virtual digital leadership; digital strategies should be found within every government office.<\/p>\n

The “how” is more of an implementation detail. I am far more concerned with the “what”. What are we trying to do? Let’s start by making that answer clear.<\/p>\n

What is our national digital connectivity objective? Do we want the fastest speeds? Do we want the most people to have access? Do we want the most people to\u00a0be connected? Do we want global leadership in certain types of content or applications development?<\/p>\n

I would vote to focus on maximizing the number of Canadians who are connected on-line<\/a> all the time. And if that is the case, then spending programs need to be measured based on how effectively they deliver on that goal, with technological neutrality.<\/p>\n

I am less fussed with what gizmo or plumbing pipe people use, as long as it serves the purposes of enabling us to be able to leverage the capabilities, efficiencies and opportunities afforded by digital connectivity and literacy.<\/p>\n

Nokia recently announced its focus on getting the next billion<\/a> connected to the internet. It is a clear statement of a bold\u00a0objective.<\/p>\n

It is a new school year, a new season, as we\u00a0prepare for\u00a0the return of Parliament on Monday, let’s look forward to a clear statement of a bold digital vision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 10 days leading up to the start of Yom Kippur tonight are a time for reflection, a review of the past year. I have taken the past week to\u00a0recuperate from some surgery, which provided an opportunity to have narcotics influence the thought process. As a preamble, I wish to\u00a0note that my surgeon recommended not …<\/p>\n

Setting our national vision<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","two_page_speed":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSetting our national vision • Telecom Trends<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 10 days leading up to the start of Yom Kippur tonight are a time for reflection, a review of the past year. 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