Telecom Policy Review Report not just business as usual, by Marita Moll and Leslie Regan Shade in Straight Goods, April 4, 2006. If link does not work read below...

The release of the first major review of Canadian telecommunications policy in 30 years was almost a media non-event. The Telecommunications Policy Review Panel (TPRP) was aimed at powerful industry players looking for new rules of engagement . It supported further deregulation of the industry, looser foreign ownership rules, a new role for the CRTC and the now well-rehearsed mantra that governments should only intervene where market forces fail – no surprises there. But the Panel reached beyond that. It recognized that governments do have a responsibility to ensure that all Canadians -- urban, rural and remote – have a fair chance in the new economy driven by information and communications technologies (ICTs) and that there is still plenty of work to do in this area.

It is not widely known that community-based organizations across Canada provide both technological and social infrastructures for access, adoption and use of information and communications technologies (ICTs). Variously known as community networks, CAP (community access) sites, freenets, etc., “they help ensure that all Canadians, particularly those most at risk of being left behind, have the necessary skills to participate in the networked economy,” says the TPRP report. The Panel’s proposed national ICT adoption strategy offers new hope to this group currently discouraged by recent federal government decisions.

Over the last 10 years, various federal programs have promoted community access strategies. Industry Canada itself has invested $600 million in “connectivity” programs including the Community Access Program (CAP). But in the field, there has always been the well-founded fear that the small amount of ongoing federal funding would be withdrawn -- despite the fact that these programs are partnership “dream teams” which can include provincial, municipal, community and private sector contributions. Once the infrastructure is in place, the funding provides some support for committed community workers and a small army of volunteers who assist 100,000 Canadians a day with the skill requirements of a “new economy”. Federal sources have estimated that 80% of investments in these sites represent money and resources leveraged within the community itself. But there is no excess capacity at the margins. Without the federal funding, many of these sites have indicated that they cannot survive for long. Some have recently closed, unable to weather the current policy limbo surrounding crucial funding programs.

The Panel acknowledges that universal access and effective use means more than the physical infrastructure associated with ICTs. It takes the social infrastructure – the training, support, relevant applications and human beings on the ground -- to make effective access a reality. The Panel’s proposed national ICT adoption strategy, which integrates research, a co-ordinated skills adoption plan and a connectivity agenda, could go a long way towards supporting these essential services. Yes, small business (SMEs) must be supported in every way possible and the adoption strategy encourages this with proposed ICT adoption tax credits. But the skills necessary to realize the SME adoption goals are increasingly nurtured outside of the business sector – in schools, community networking sites, local continuing education and retraining programs. This is where the community networking sites play an important role. The report presents a vision, a set of principles, and clear objectives to support ICT adoption. Already established community delivery services are ready to provide local action plans.

The report also calls for an end to federal competitions for community access to broadband networks. With as many as 1.5 million people living in rural and remote areas which will not be served by market forces, “the time for pilot programs that achieve partial results is over, ” says the report. The Panel proposes a targeted government subsidy plan called U-CAN that would connect all communities by 2010. Implementation would include multi-stakeholder consultations. This should evoke a collective sigh of relief from communities long frustrated by resource intensive government competition processes and “one size fits all” solutions.

Our experience and the work of our research team in the field shows that community driven ICT initiatives play an important role in a networked economy. They need to be acknowledged and supported at all levels. The Telecom Policy Review Panel heard this from communities across the country and has outlined a role for the federal government. We urge Industry Minister Bernier to consider it a priority and act quickly to implement these parts of the report.

The authors are co-investigators in the Canadian Research Alliance for Community Innovation and Networking (CRACIN), a SSHRC funded research initiative under the Initiative for the New Economy. For information see www.cracin.ca