[CommunityInformaticsCanada] RE: [Advisors] Canada comes in at #32
on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Information and
Communication Development Index
James Van Leeuwen
jvl at ventus.ca
Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:29:19 -0600
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Our federal government and regulator are seriously committed to =
protecting and improving competition in our markets for =
telecommunication services, as reflected by the recent Bell-Astral =
decision.
Their expectation is that better competition will drive innovation and =
reduce costs, drive penetration of networks, and drive adoption and =
utilization of ICT, thereby restoring Canada's competitiveness in the =
global digital economy.=20
What they just don't seem to understand (or don't want to understand) is =
that investing in our legacy paradigm of facilities-based competition is =
ultimately counterproductive to achieving the broader objective.
It could actually be the worst possible paradigm for a country with =
Canada's geography and demography, and our telecom incumbents and =
telecom regulator are all captive to it.
Competition will improve, but only marginally and not nearly as fast as =
it is improving in most other nations.
Developing nations are not likely to make the same mistake we have made, =
and some will overtake us within five years if the trends revealed by =
this ITU research continue.=20
The only way we will be able to keep pace is by migrating to =
service-based competition over shared networks, which is where most of =
the world is already headed.
This will require disrupting the legacy paradigm and forcing Canada's =
network operators to open their networks, including their new fibre =
access networks.
The Australian Government tried this approach, but could not persuade =
their lone incumbent (Telstra) to cooperate.
The Australian Government is therefore building its own open access =
National Broadband Network, which will bring fibre connectivity to over =
94% of homes and businesses throughout the country.
Our current federal government lacks the capacity for strategic =
initiative of this nature, and is therefore highly unlikely to take =
serious action like this.
Canada will continue to lose ground to other nations until our senior =
governments are literally forced to take action.
The interesting question is who or what will provide the impetus, =
because most Canadians either don't know or don't care how serious this =
issue is.
Most think the Canadian economy is just fine, thank you very much, and =
we don't need to be taking any strategic risks to protect Canada's =
prosperity.
We just need to keep rippin' and shippin' all that gas, oil, bitumen, =
timber, and other primary products, and we'll be OK.
Hence the overwhelming interest on the part of the federal government to =
build new pipeline capacity to the U.S. and the west coast.
As the Industrial Age winds down and the Information Age unfolds, =
Canadians don't have their priorities straight.
JvL
On 2012-10-20, at 2:49 PM, "michael gurstein" <gurstein@gmail.com> =
wrote:
> Hi Fred,
> =20
> These ranking thingees are always tricky=85 but my recollection was =
that Canada was (almost always) in the top 10 in the various rankings up =
to the Internet era based on its uses of micro-wave and satellite for =
rural and remote and its almost universal land line distribution. It wa =
a bit slow at thebeginning of the digital era and has been falling =
further and further behind (directly parallel to the processes of =
deregulation) as the relative prices for Internet and mobiles stayed =
high while they dropped in the rest of the world. The lack of a policy =
on ICTs in Canada -- we've been waiting one ridiculously for 5 or 6 =
years -- is one reason. (A policy which has been promised every year for =
that period is expected out now before the end of the year but given who =
was consulted and what apparently were its term of reference -- it will =
almost certainly only focus on supporting only the commercial sector.)
> =20
> Canada has been falling further and further behind on all indices of =
Broadband deployment, uptake and cost particularly, and those figures =
from the ITU are probably the basis of that.
> =20
> As for communities and rural and remote, Canada fell off the charts =
almost a decade ago when the Community Access Program stalled and wasn't =
renovated at all from its early promise and no similar programs =
promoting universal access or digital literacy emerged from a government =
whose leader proclaimed that all the problems had been solved so no =
further action was needed.
> =20
> M
> =20
> From: Fred Campbell [mailto:ryakuga@hotmail.com]=20
> Sent: Saturday, October 20, 2012 11:04 PM
> To: gurstein@gmail.com; ottawadissenters@yahoogroups.com; Cracin =
Vancouver; advisors@tc.ca
> Subject: RE: [Advisors] Canada comes in at #32 on the International =
Telecommunication Union (ITU) Information and Communication Development =
Index
> =20
> Thanks, Mike.
> =20
> Question: Am I wrong in assuming Canada was once highly (comparative =
globally) rated, not specifically by ITU, but for community access?
> =20
> Our observation is that the corporate controlled model doesn't work =
for rural Canada - given satellite doesn't seem to work in rain and wind =
- a major design flaw for Atlantic Canada : )
>=20
> > From: gurstein@gmail.com
> > To: Ottawadissenters@yahoogroups.com; =
cracin-canada@vancouvercommunity.net; advisors@tc.ca
> > Subject: [Advisors] Canada comes in at #32 on the International =
Telecommunication Union (ITU) Information and Communication Development =
Index
> > Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2012 18:26:49 +0600
> >=20
> > Canada comes in at #32 on the International Telecommunication Union =
(ITU)
> > Information and Communication Development Index. The ITU ranked =
Korea as the
> > most advanced information and communication technology (ICT) country =
in its
> > "Measuring the Information Society 2012" report. Other countries in =
the top
> > five include Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. According to the =
index's
> > press release, all top-30 countries are "high-income countries, =
underlying
> > the strong link between income and ICT progress." On a chart showing =
samples
> > from the index, Canada ranked between Australia (#26) and Qatar =
(#47).=20
> >=20
> > The 2012 ICT Development Index ranked 155 countries according to =
their level
> > of ICT access, use and skills.
> >=20
> > http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2012/70.aspx
> >=20
> >=20
> > _______________________________________________
> > Advisors mailing list
> > Advisors@tc.ca
> > http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/advisors
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<html><head><meta http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html =
charset=3Dwindows-1252"><base href=3D"x-msg://993/"></head><body =
style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; =
-webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Our federal government and =
regulator are seriously committed to protecting and improving =
competition in our markets for telecommunication services, as reflected =
by the recent Bell-Astral decision.<div><br><div>Their expectation =
is that better competition will drive innovation and reduce costs, drive =
penetration of networks, and drive adoption and utilization of ICT, =
thereby restoring Canada's competitiveness in the global digital =
economy. </div><div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>What they =
just don't seem to understand (or don't want to understand) is that =
investing in our legacy paradigm of facilities-based competition is =
ultimately counterproductive to achieving the broader =
objective.</div><div><br></div><div>It could actually be the worst =
possible paradigm for a country with Canada's geography and demography, =
and our telecom incumbents and telecom regulator are all captive to =
it.</div><div><br></div><div><div>Competition will improve, but only =
marginally and not nearly as fast as it is improving in most other =
nations.</div><div><br></div></div><div><br></div><div><div>Developing =
nations are not likely to make the same mistake we have made, =
and some will overtake us within five years if the trends revealed =
by this ITU research continue. </div><div><br></div></div><div>The =
only way we will be able to keep pace is by migrating to service-based =
competition over shared networks, which is where most of the world is =
already headed.</div><div><br></div><div><div>This will require =
disrupting the legacy paradigm and forcing Canada's network operators to =
open their networks, including their new fibre access =
networks.</div></div><div><br></div><div><div>The Australian Government =
tried this approach, but could not persuade their lone incumbent =
(Telstra) to cooperate.</div><div><br></div><div>The Australian =
Government is therefore building its own open access National Broadband =
Network, which will bring fibre connectivity to over 94% of homes and =
businesses throughout the =
country.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Our current federal =
government lacks the capacity for strategic initiative of this nature, =
and is therefore highly unlikely to take serious action like =
this.</div><div><br></div><div>Canada will continue to lose ground to =
other nations until our senior governments are literally <u>forced</u> =
to take action.</div><div><br></div><div>The interesting question is who =
or what will provide the impetus, because most Canadians either don't =
know or don't care how serious this issue =
is.</div><div><br></div><div>Most think the Canadian economy is just =
fine, thank you very much, and we don't need to be taking any strategic =
risks to protect Canada's prosperity.</div><div><br></div><div>We just =
need to keep rippin' and shippin' all that gas, oil, bitumen, timber, =
and other primary products, and we'll be =
OK.</div><div><br></div><div>Hence the overwhelming interest on the part =
of the federal government to build new pipeline capacity to the U.S. and =
the west coast.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>As the =
Industrial Age winds down and the Information Age unfolds, Canadians =
don't have their priorities =
straight.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>JvL</div><div><br></div>=
<div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div><div>On =
2012-10-20, at 2:49 PM, "michael gurstein" <<a =
href=3D"mailto:gurstein@gmail.com">gurstein@gmail.com</a>> =
wrote:</div><br class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote =
type=3D"cite"><div lang=3D"EN-US" link=3D"blue" vlink=3D"purple" =
style=3D"font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; =
font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; =
line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: =
0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: =
0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; =
"><div class=3D"WordSection1" style=3D"page: WordSection1; "><div =
style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times =
New Roman', serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 11pt; font-family: =
Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Hi =
Fred,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; =
font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span =
style=3D"font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: =
rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></div><div style=3D"margin: 0in 0in =
0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; =
"><span style=3D"font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; =
color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">These ranking thingees are always tricky=85 =
but my recollection was that Canada was (almost always) in the top 10 in =
the various rankings up to the Internet era based on its uses of =
micro-wave and satellite for rural and remote and its almost universal =
land line distribution. It wa a bit slow at thebeginning of the =
digital era and has been falling further and further behind (directly =
parallel to the processes of deregulation) as the relative prices for =
Internet and mobiles stayed high while they dropped in the rest of the =
world. The lack of a policy on ICTs in Canada -- we've been waiting one =
ridiculously for 5 or 6 years -- is one reason. (A policy which has been =
promised every year for that period is expected out now before the end =
of the year but given who was consulted and what apparently were its =
term of reference -- it will almost certainly only focus on supporting =
only the commercial sector.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style=3D"margin: =
0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', =
serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, =
sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></div><div =
style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times =
New Roman', serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 11pt; font-family: =
Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Canada has been falling =
further and further behind on all indices of Broadband deployment, =
uptake and cost particularly, and those figures from the ITU are =
probably the basis of that.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style=3D"margin: =
0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', =
serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, =
sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></div><div =
style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times =
New Roman', serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 11pt; font-family: =
Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">As for communities and =
rural and remote, Canada fell off the charts almost a decade ago when =
the Community Access Program stalled and wasn't renovated at all from =
its early promise and no similar programs promoting universal access or =
digital literacy emerged from a government whose leader proclaimed that =
all the problems had been solved so no further action was =
needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; =
font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span =
style=3D"font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: =
rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></div><div style=3D"margin: 0in 0in =
0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; =
"><span style=3D"font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; =
color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">M<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style=3D"margin: =
0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', =
serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, =
sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></div><div><div =
style=3D"border-style: solid none none; border-top-width: 1pt; =
border-top-color: rgb(181, 196, 223); padding: 3pt 0in 0in; "><div =
style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times =
New Roman', serif; "><b><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: =
Tahoma, sans-serif; ">From:</span></b><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; =
font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; "><span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span>Fred Campbell =
[mailto:ryakuga@<a href=3D"http://hotmail.com" style=3D"color: purple; =
text-decoration: underline; ">hotmail.com</a>]<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><br><b>Sent:</b><span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span>Saturday, October 20, 2012 =
11:04 PM<br><b>To:</b><span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><a =
href=3D"mailto:gurstein@gmail.com" style=3D"color: purple; =
text-decoration: underline; ">gurstein@gmail.com</a>;<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><a =
href=3D"mailto:ottawadissenters@yahoogroups.com" style=3D"color: purple; =
text-decoration: underline; ">ottawadissenters@yahoogroups.com</a>; =
Cracin Vancouver;<span class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><a =
href=3D"mailto:advisors@tc.ca" style=3D"color: purple; text-decoration: =
underline; ">advisors@tc.ca</a><br><b>Subject:</b><span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span>RE: [Advisors] Canada comes =
in at #32 on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Information =
and Communication Development =
Index<o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div><div style=3D"margin: 0in 0in =
0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; =
"><o:p> </o:p></div><div><div style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; =
font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span =
style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; ">Thanks, =
Mike.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><div style=3D"margin: 0in 0in =
0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; =
"><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; =
"> </span></div></div><div><div style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; =
font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span =
style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; ">Question: =
Am I wrong in assuming Canada was once highly (comparative globally) =
rated, not specifically by ITU, but for community =
access?<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div><div style=3D"margin: 0in 0in =
0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; =
"><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; =
"> </span></div></div><div><p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin: =
0in 0in 12pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; =
"><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; ">Our =
observation is that the corporate controlled model doesn't work for =
rural Canada - given satellite doesn't seem to work in rain and wind - a =
major design flaw for Atlantic Canada : =
)<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><div style=3D"margin: 0in 0in =
0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; =
"><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; =
">> From:<span class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><a =
href=3D"mailto:gurstein@gmail.com" style=3D"color: purple; =
text-decoration: underline; ">gurstein@gmail.com</a><br>> To:<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><a =
href=3D"mailto:Ottawadissenters@yahoogroups.com" style=3D"color: purple; =
text-decoration: underline; ">Ottawadissenters@yahoogroups.com</a>;<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><a =
href=3D"mailto:cracin-canada@vancouvercommunity.net" style=3D"color: =
purple; text-decoration: underline; =
">cracin-canada@vancouvercommunity.net</a>;<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><a =
href=3D"mailto:advisors@tc.ca" style=3D"color: purple; text-decoration: =
underline; ">advisors@tc.ca</a><br>> Subject: [Advisors] Canada comes =
in at #32 on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Information =
and Communication Development Index<br>> Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2012 =
18:26:49 +0600<br>><span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>> Canada comes in at =
#32 on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)<br>> =
Information and Communication Development Index. The ITU ranked Korea as =
the<br>> most advanced information and communication technology (ICT) =
country in its<br>> "Measuring the Information Society 2012" report. =
Other countries in the top<br>> five include Sweden, Denmark, Iceland =
and Finland. According to the index's<br>> press release, all top-30 =
countries are "high-income countries, underlying<br>> the strong link =
between income and ICT progress." On a chart showing samples<br>> =
from the index, Canada ranked between Australia (#26) and Qatar =
(#47).<span class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>><span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>> The 2012 ICT =
Development Index ranked 155 countries according to their level<br>> =
of ICT access, use and skills.<br>><span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>><span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><a =
href=3D"http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2012/70.aspx" =
style=3D"color: purple; text-decoration: underline; =
">http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2012/70.aspx</a><br>&g=
t;<span class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>><span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>> =
_______________________________________________<br>> Advisors mailing =
list<br>><span class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><a =
href=3D"mailto:Advisors@tc.ca" style=3D"color: purple; text-decoration: =
underline; ">Advisors@tc.ca</a><br>><span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><a =
href=3D"http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/advisors" style=3D"color: =
purple; text-decoration: underline; =
">http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/advisors</a><o:p></o:p></span></d=
iv></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div><br></div></div></div>=
</div></body></html>=
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