October Policy Forum

Speakers:

• Brian McFadden, Chief Research Officer, Nortel
• David Reed, Executive V.P. and Chief Strategy Officer, CableLabs
• Dennis Weller, Chief Economist, Verizon
• Christopher Libertelli, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, North America, Skype Technologies S.A.
• Robert Pepper, V.P., Worldwide Government Affairs, Cisco Systems Inc.

Themes:

• How are technological and market developments shaping the telecommunications marketplace? In particular, what will be the impact of the proliferation of multi-service IP platforms? What are the implications of IP version 6?
• Who will drive changes: customers, telecom service providers, applications or equipment providers?
• What will telecommunications markets look like in the next 2 to 10 years?
• How will market forces evolve between network providers, service (application) providers and consumers? What types of service providers will be in the markets? How many 'full service' providers will there be? What kind of applications providers?

Speakers:

• John Baldwin, Director, Microeconomic Studies and Analysis Division, Statistics Canada
• Leonard Waverman, Chair, Department of Economics, London Business School
• Melvyn Fuss, Professor of Economics, University of Toronto
• Andrew Sharpe, Executive Director, Centre for the Study of Living Standards
• Martin Baily, Senior Fellow, Institute for International Economics and Senior Advisor, McKinsey Global Institute

Themes:

• What are the links between investment in and utilization of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and productivity? How strong are such links? Is investment in ICTs more important than other capital investments to improve productivity?
• Will market forces lead to a sufficient level of investment in ICTs?
• What if anything, should government do to encourage the adoption of and use of ICTs in a manner that will improve productivity?
• What should be the relationship of measures to increase investment in ICT infrastructure, and other measures, including ensuring an ICT-trained work force, and enabling organizational flexibility and adaptability?

Speakers:

• Michael Janigan, Executive Director and General Counsel, Public Interest Advocacy Centre
• Nancy Hughes Anthony, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
• Gilles Taillon, President, Conseil du patronat du Québec

Themes:

• As telecommunications markets and regulation evolve, will consumers, small businesses and non-government organizations (NGOs) be adequately protected? If not, what measures should be adopted? Would a telecommunication ombudsman be desirable?
• What policy changes, if any, should be made on consumer issues, beyond those currently under consideration, on such issues as privacy, telemarketing, SPAM, and other major consumer concerns?
• Are policy issues related to small and medium enterprises and NGOs adequately addressed in the current policy framework? If not what policy changes should be made?

Speakers:

• Robert Crandall, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings Institute
• John MacDonald, President, Allstream Division, MTS Allstream
• Robin Foster, Partner, Strategy and Market Development Group, Ofcom
• Elliot Noss, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tucows Inc.
• Edmund (Ted) Chislett, President, Primus Canada Inc.

Themes:

• How independent will telecommunications network infrastructure, the 'transport layer' be from applications or the 'services layer', in the future?
• What arrangements should apply to the provision of wholesale services and network unbundling by facilities-based suppliers? What regulatory approach should apply?
• How should the business relationship between network providers and service (application) providers evolve in the future to satisfy each stakeholder's imperatives:
  • sound business environment for network providers to ensure the level of network investment required for Canada to remain an ICT leader;
  • open and efficient network access to service (application) providers to inject a new level of energy into the Canadian ICT sector, and
  • the full benefit of service innovation and price competition for Canadian consumers and businesses?
• Do we need regulations to achieve these objectives or would market forces be sufficient? If we need regulatory or policy measures, which measures would create the right market environment for those objectives to be met?

Speakers:

• Reed Hundt, Independent Advisor on Information Industries, McKinsey & Co.
• Alfred Kahn, Robert Julius Thorne Professor of Political Economy, Cornell University
• Lee Selwyn, President, Economics and Technology Inc.

Themes:

• Will full telco-cable convergence occur in the main telecom service markets - i.e. two competing 'full service' platforms? What will be the role of wireless and other 'multi service' platforms?
• Will there be workable competition? If not, what regulatory or other measures are warranted to protect customers from prices that are too high? What other regulatory or policy measures may be required?
• What measures are required to protect against anti-competitive abuses of market power - through sector-specific measures, or through economy-wide competition laws - or both?

Speakers:

• Warwick Davis, Director, Telecommunications Branch, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
• Clive Gordon, Director, Telecommunications and Competition Law, Ofcom
• David Colville, Vice-Chairman (Retired), Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission

Themes:

• Should the present allocation of powers among a Canadian economic and social regulator (CRTC), a spectrum and equipment regulator (Industry Canada) and a competition authority (the Competition Bureau) continue? It not, what institutional arrangements would be preferable?
• How should the telecom regulatory institution(s) be structured, in terms of effective and efficient decision-making, promotion of efficient markets, and promotion of Canadian competitiveness and societal objectives?
• What lessons can Canada learn from institutional arrangements in other countries?

Speakers:

• David Colville, Vice-Chairman (Retired), Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission
• Warwick Davis, Director, Telecommunications Branch, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
• Robin Foster, Partner, Strategy and Market Development Group, Ofcom
• John Manley, Senior Counsel, McCarthy Tétrault

Themes:

• Is there a need to improve the process of developing telecommunication policy in Canada? If so, how?
• Should we improve the co-ordination of federal and provincial telecommunication policy and regulation? If so, how?
• What role, if any, should there be for:
  • government policy directives to the regulator
  • appeals from regulatory decisions to the government
  • appeals from regulatory decisions (of all regulators) to the Courts