Mandate

Appointment of Members to the Telecommunications Policy Review Panel

The government recognizes the critical importance of the telecommunications sector to Canada’s future well-being and the need for a modern policy framework. To ensure that the telecommunications industry continues to support Canada’s long-term competitiveness, the government is appointing a panel of eminent Canadians to review Canada’s telecommunications framework. The panel is asked to make recommendations on how to move Canada toward a modern telecommunications framework in a manner that benefits Canadian industry and consumers.
— Budget 2005

Objective

The government’s objective is to ensure that Canada has a strong, internationally competitive telecommunications industry, which delivers world-class affordable services and products for the economic and social benefit of all Canadians in all regions of Canada.

The panel is asked to make recommendations that will help achieve this objective.

Structure

A panel of three Canadians has been named by the Minister of Industry. It is expected that the panel will:

• receive submissions from interested parties as its primary means of gathering information;

• hold public consultation with the aim of gathering additional information or clarifying submissions; and

• commission a limited number of contextual reports (e.g. an international benchmarking of policy and regulatory frameworks, or an analysis of the applicability of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms).

Timing

The panel is asked to make recommendations to the Minister of Industry before the end of 2005.

Areas of Interest

Creating the right framework for telecommunications involves maintaining an up-to-date regulatory regime, fostering an environment that improves access for all sectors of the economy, and encouraging the adoption of advanced applications and services. The panel is asked to study and report on three areas that must continue to evolve in order to keep pace with rapid changes in technology, consumer demand and market structure: regulation, access, and information and communications technologies (ICT) adoption.

Regulation

The existing regulatory regime was designed to facilitate the introduction of competition into an industry previously structured around monopolies. The development and deployment of advanced technology, such as Internet Protocol-based services, high-speed Internet access and wireless broadband communications, combined with maturing consumer demand, have had a profound effect on the telecommunication industry and have started to change the shape and structure of the industry. Governments face the challenge of regulating the industry as it exists today and protecting the interests of its users, while at the same time not standing in the way of progress or restricting the benefits and adoption of advanced telecommunications networks and services.

The panel is asked to make recommendations on how to implement an efficient, fair, functional and forward-looking regulatory framework that serves Canadian consumers and businesses, and that can adapt to a changing technological landscape.

Access

A key objective of Canada’s telecommunication policy is the provision of reliable and affordable telecommunications for Canadians in all parts of the country, and in all sectors of the economy. Great success has been achieved in providing basic telephone service thanks in large part to internally generated cross subsidies. However, the increasingly competitive nature of the industry substantially limits the ability to cross subsidize. At the same time, consumer expectations have grown. Access beyond traditional voice services to advanced telecommunications connectivity and high-speed networks is now expected. Challenges remain, not only in closing the existing service and accessibility gaps, but also in ensuring that Canada keeps pace with ever-changing technology and consumer demand.

The panel is asked to recommend mechanisms that will ensure that all Canadians continue to have an appropriate level of access to modern telecommunications services.

ICT Adoption

A primary principle of Canadian telecommunications policy is that the telecommunications system should safeguard, enrich, and strengthen the social and economic fabric of Canada. Not only is telecommunications an important sector in its own right, it is also a powerful enabler within the economy and society as a whole; a new platform for the delivery of traditional services, such as health care and education, as well as for innovative new services. Research and development efforts continue to produce innovative ICT. Given the impact ICT has on productivity, Canada must ensure that its levels of technology adoption remain competitive with the world’s other leading economies.

The panel is asked to make recommendations on measures to promote the development, adoption and expanded use of advanced telecommunications services across the economy. In this context, the panel is also asked to report on the appropriateness of Canada’s current levels of ICT investment.

In addition to these specific areas of interest, the panel is encouraged to study and report on any other issues that, in its opinion, are essential to creating a modern telecommunications framework.