Connectivity is Key to Improved Productivity

I harp about Harper a lot on this blog.  But when they do something right I like to applaud the effort.  There is a disasterous state of digitization in Canada.  There is poor rural access to high-speed Internet. We have userous wireless cost structures run by the oilgarchy of Rogers, Bell and Telus.  An we have the indifference of the CRTC to the pubic good in terms of effective regulation.

Now the Harper government seems intent on at least shedding light on this situation.

In Alberta we have a wonderful opportnity to leap ahead in terms of digital connectivity and productivity because of the foresight of the SuperNet. However our goverment seems disinterested in making it available to every citizen, which is possible if you have a copperwire telephone line in you home or business.


Telus owns those lines and have refused to negotiate Internet access to the SuperNet through them. The CRTC recently bought a bogus argument that such use would interfere with other telephone use, something called crosstalk. The technology has advanced way past that problem. Nevertheless, the CRTC recently refused a complaint by an Edmonton based Internet Service Provider to require competative acces to the Telus copper wire and in the process the Commission embarassed themselves in holding to such an arcaine misunderstanding of the technological reality of today.

Poor productivity is a major issue facing the Canadian and Alberta economies. Connectivity is a key to improved productivity. The world gets it and has started to move way past the pedantic and pathetic connectivity policies of Canada. Alberta is perhaps the most to bear the brunt of such criticism. We have the SuperNet and a government with no sense of its potential or how to realize it for the benfit of Albertans. Sad but true.

CRTC Decision is Foundational to the Fate of the Nation

Net Neutrality is likely a very foreign concept to most Canadians. It is a critical issue in terms of free speech, fairness, consumer law, connectivity, productivity, fair trade rules and the overall 21st century competitiveness of the country.



It is essentially that all Internet users should have the same rights to use the technology within the law. Some service providers are charging for services they are not providing because the "throttle" bandwidth. That means they restrict bandwidth to customers under the discretion of the Internet service provider and without notice or adjustment of payment. Some of the big boys in the ISP world claim they need to do this for technical reasons but that is a factious argument since not all of the big boys do it.



The CRTC has been holding hearing on the issue. The outcome of these hearing will be a fundamental to the future of rights and freedoms as it will be to economic and community capacities of the country.



Michael Geist has a very good summary column in the Toronto Star. It is a good place to start to get you heard around the issues.

Good News: Fort Chipewyan is Using Video Conferencing.

ACFN GETS VIDEO CONFERENCING:
Here is a great piece of counter-intuitive good news that I just have to share. The Athabascan Chipewyan First Nation has just installed a high definition Lifesize video conferencing system in Fort Chipewyan, one of the most remote communities in Alberta. They are adding even more video conference capacity to their operations in Fort McMurray now too.

I will now be able to work with them face to face from my office with my system, on an on-going basis, without the time and cost of travel, accommodation and meals etc. The productivity increases and the improved effectiveness of our working together will be enormous. As well as well as improved communications and convenience we all will reduced carbon footprint with less travel.

Fort Chipewyan is one of the most remote and vulnerable communities in the province. The ACFN gets it and has taken a step into 21st century connectivity with this facility. Well done Chief Adam and congratulation to the rest of your crew in making this move.

VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS IS BECOMING MORE IMPORTANT
It used to be that 70% of our communications was influenced by visual inputs. Apparently newer studies are showing this has increased to over 80% of visual clues that have influence over the effectiveness of our human communication. As the Internet goes more to video and we have had more television exposure over the years, the more importance we are placing on our visual communications. Video conferencing is a natural response to provide that need for improved visual communications.

VIDEO CONFERENCING IS NOW COST EFFECTIVE
I am using video-conferencing more and more in my day-to-day work and am encouraging everyone I can to adopt this technology for the obvious reasons. I get excited about new technology and the positive changes it can make to our world. I am an early adapter more than an early adporter. Video conferencing like I am using is now accessible physically and fiscally for small businesses like mine. It has been one of the big changes from technology that I am really excited about.

THE LAST MILE SUPERNET SOLUTION FOR RURAL ALBERTA IS AT HAND
I hope the CRTC requires Telus to allow access to their unloaded copper telephone lines in Alberta A formal application has been made to the CRTC for that very purpose and a final decision from the Commission is expected shortly. If successful then anyone with a land line telephone service will be able to have this copper wire capacity used for Internet and other high valued added services like video conferencing. Imagine having that in you business, home or organization in rural Alberta. That will level the playing field for rural Albertans significanlty.

Connect those telephone lines to the SuperNet and all of a sudden rural Alberta's last mile SuperNet connectivity problem is also solved. Then more citizens and businesses all over rural Alberta willthen have fibre level internet services including high definition video access to the world using the power of the SuperNet. It can be there for them at a fraction of the cost of fibre and not expensive fibre installation costs. Telephone lines are everywhere in Alberta. They are very familiar and reliable technology that does not require expensive fibre optic installations. As one telephony consultant said recently, "Copper wire may be buried but it is not dead."

The SuperNet has enormous potential as an economic lever and a competative differentiator for our province. Alberta's SuperNet is one of the most powerful and unique 21st century infrastructures on the planet. Now all we need to do is to get Albertans hooked up and using it. Some policy decisions at the CRTC and shared SuperNet access policies need to come together to make this happen.

FCC Has Teeth to Fine Internet Service Provider Abusers - Does the CRTC?

Here is a link to the Comcast decision by the FCC in the States to bring down the hammer on a service provider diddling the Internet service and access to their customers. They were "throttling" also some times called shaping. This is when your Internet provided has a different rate for downloading than uploading. So you con download easily at the rates you are paying for. However to upload a video from our computer - or to do video conferencing, you have a much lower speed put on your system. As a result you are not getting the Internet service levels that you are actually paying for when this service provider trickery happens. It is a RIPOFF!


We know this is happening in Canada too and it needs to be challenged at the CRTC. I don't think our regulators have the kind of teeth the FCC has to levy hefty fines for such customer abuse...but it ought to.


I will be posting more on this and other Net Neutrality and Alberta SuperNet issues over then next few weeks as well. Stay tuned!