Post Tagged with: "broadband"

Canada’s Telecom Crisis: My Appearance Before the Senate Transport and Communications Committee

Two weeks ago, I appeared before the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications to discuss the state of telecommunications in Canada. The committee is conducting a study on the wireless sector and access to high-speed Internet. The full hearing last over 90 minutes and the transcript has just been posted online. My opening statement is posted below.

Appearance before the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications
May 26, 2009

Good morning. My name is Michael Geist. I am a law professor at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, where I hold the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law. I am also a syndicated weekly columnist on law and technology issues for the Toronto Star and the Ottawa Citizen. I served on National Task Force on Spam struck by the Minister of Industry in 2004 and on the board of directors of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, which manages the dot-ca domain name space, from 2000 – 2006.

I appear before the committee today in a personal capacity representing only my own views. I grateful both for the opportunity to appear before you and for your decision to address this issue. As you know, Canada was once a global leader in the telecom field. Companies like Nortel led the world and – befitting a country with our geography – Canada consistently ranked toward the top on most telecom measures. No longer. While RIM has carved out an important niche and become a household name, the Canadian telecommunications scene is in a state of crisis. This is no exaggeration. Following years of neglect by successive governments, the absence of a forward-looking digital agenda, and cozy, uncompetitive environment, we now find ourselves steadily slipping in the rankings just as these issues gain even more importance for commercial, educational, and community purposes.

I know that you are focused primarily on the wireless sector, but I think the problems within our telecommunications infrastructure are not so easily divisible. I would like to briefly discuss three issues – wireless, broadband access, and net neutrality.

June 8, 2009 — 26 comments — Committees, News

St. Arnaud on the State of Canadian Broadband

CBC's Spark features a full-length interview with Canarie's Bill St. Arnaud on the state of Canadian broadband.

June 4, 2009 — 2 comments — News

OECD Report Finds Canadian Broadband Slow, Expensive

In recent months, much of the discussion about high-speed Internet service in Canada has focused on two key issues – net neutrality and the need to bring broadband access to the remaining underserved areas in rural Canada. Both of these issues are now squarely on the public agenda with the CRTC conducting hearings on net neutrality next month and the government committing millions toward rural broadband initiatives in this year's budget.

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that issing is a third, fast-growing concern, however. According to a new OECD report, Canada has one of the slowest and most expensive consumer broadband networks in the developed world. The OECD report, widely viewed as the leading global benchmark on broadband networks, compared Canada with 29 other countries on a range of metrics. These included broadband availability, pricing, speed, and bandwidth caps.

At first glance, the numbers do not seem that bad, with Canada ranking ninth out of 30 countries for broadband penetration. While that represents a sharp decline from years ago when Canada prided itself in standing second worldwide, its current position is unchanged from last year. Yet the situation becomes far more troubling once the OECD delves deeper into Canadian broadband pricing and speed.

June 1, 2009 — 18 comments — Columns

Report Finds Canadian High-Speed Internet Slow, Expensive

Appeared in the Toronto Star on June 1, 2009 as High-speed Net Expensive, Slow: Report In recent months, much of the discussion about high-speed Internet service in Canada has focused on two key issues – net neutrality and the need to bring broadband access to the remaining underserved areas in […]

June 1, 2009 — 1 comment — Columns Archive

Budget 2009 – Money for Broadband, Part Two

In the dying days of the fall election campaign, the Conservatives promised to spend $100 million per year for five years on broadband deployment in rural areas starting in 2010. While the budget moves that spending up a year, it commits less money – $75 million per year for three […]

January 27, 2009 — 3 comments — News