Post Tagged with: "canada"

Canada May Be Nearing the Open Access “Tipping Point”

Appeared in the Toronto Star on October 19, 2013 as Canada Nearing ‘Tipping Point’ Where 50 Per Cent of Research is Freely Available The power of the Internet to shake up well-established industries has become a common theme in recent years as many businesses struggle to compete with new entrants […]

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October 24, 2013 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

Canada Facilitated NSA’s Effort To Weaken Encryption Standards

The NY Times reports that Canada played a notable role in assisting the NSA to weaken encryption standards. The Times reports: internal memos leaked by a former N.S.A. contractor, Edward Snowden, suggest that the N.S.A. generated one of the random number generators used in a 2006 N.I.S.T. standard – called […]

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September 11, 2013 2 comments News

OECD Report Confirms What Canadians Have Long Suspected: Wireless Pricing Among Highest in the World

The OECD last week released the 2013 Communications Outlook, a major international report issued once every two years with detailed comparative data on telecommunications throughout the developed economy world. Telus jumped on the report by posting its own release claiming that it “once again confirms that Canadian wireless pricing is extremely competitive internationally.” Notwithstanding those sunny comments, those that take the time to read the report (which must be purchased or accessed via an institutional subscription) will find that the reality is that the OECD reports that Canada is one of the most expensive countries for wireless services in the world. In fact, the OECD finds that not only do Canadian wireless services rank poorly when compared to the rest of the OECD, but so too do broadband Internet services (I’ll focus on broadband in a later post).

These wireless price rankings run from cheapest (1st) to most expensive (34th). Canada ranks among the most ten most expensive countries within the OECD in virtually every category and among the three most expensive countries for several standard data only plans.

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July 15, 2013 32 comments News

Why a New Approach To Roaming Could Shake Up the Canadian Wireless Landscape

Having initially dismissed the prospect of Verizon’s entry into the Canadian market, telecom analysts are now seeking to downplay the likely impact, questioning whether Verizon would become a consumer-focused competitor and suggesting its focus may be limited to the corporate market. While the Verizon’s precise plans remain unknown, it seems likely that much of their interest in Canada stems from roaming costs.

Carrier roaming costs (and revenues) are typically shrouded in secrecy, but it seems likely that Verizon faces a significant imbalance when it comes to roaming costs in Canada. Recent reports from both the OECD and BEREC (the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications) point to the typical model for roaming costs, with carriers preferring to simply swap traffic with no net payments. The OECD discusses this in an international roaming study released last month:

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July 3, 2013 5 comments News

Happy Canada Day: Celebrating Canada’s Digital Policy Success Stories

As Canadians grapple with news of widespread secret surveillance, trade agreements that could upend intellectual property policy, and the frustrations of a failed wireless policy, there are plenty of digital policy concerns. Yet on Canada Day, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) argues that it is worth celebrating the many positive developments that dot the Canadian digital policy landscape.  Eight of the best include:

1.    The Supreme Court of Canada’s strong affirmation of user rights and technological neutrality in copyright. Canada’s highest court stands as the most pro-user court in the world as it has repeatedly emphasized the need to strike a balance between creator rights and user rights. Its decisions, which include a record five copyright cases handed down in a single day last year, are cited by many as the best approach to reward creators and promote new innovation.

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July 1, 2013 2 comments Columns