The complex structure of the spectrum auction means the government is deriving revenues from two groups of bidders: Incumbent service providers are restricted to bidding on 60% of the available spectrum in an open auction, while new entrants to the industry are able to bid both on the open spectrum and the remaining 40% of the spectrum, which has been especially reserved for them in a closed auction. This has created a huge premium, estimated to be about $750-million, for the spectrum in the open auction.
Jim Flaherty, the federal Finance Minister, has suggested the unexpected funds will be used to pay down debt, reduce taxes or fund government programs. However, the government’s own policy objectives suggest the benefits derived through the radio frequency spectrum resource should be used to maximize economic and social benefits for Canadians — not just simply augmenting federal revenues. As such, the money would be best invested in a program designed to directly help make Canada a world leader in broadband, a technology that has grown increasingly essential to a nation’s economic well-being in an ultra-competitive world.
This isn’t just a matter of using the Internet for entertainment. Broadband brings opportunities for improved education, training and lifelong learning through online courses and the provision of educational materials. It also provides people in rural and remote areas with improved health care (thanks to superior diagnostic services and real-time consultations), enhanced cultural opportunities and more and better business possibilities through e-commerce and improved productivity. This is the digital age. High-speed access is not just one tool for a better life — it’s becoming a prerequisite.
In terms of high-speed Internet, Canada actually fares pretty well on the international stage, but we are at risk of slipping behind. The financial burden of expanding the Internet to Canadians has fallen almost exclusively to the private sector. A third of communities across our country still lack high-speed access to the Internet and many quite simply don’t offer compelling economic prospects for investment from the private sector. Consequently, people in these towns and villages are being left behind. The unexpected bounty would go a long way toward changing that reality and offering more Canadians level access to the modern playing field.
The 2006 Telecommunications Policy Review Panel recommended that government “immediately commence a program to ensure that affordable and reliable broadband services are available in all regions of Canada, including urban, rural and remote areas, by 2010 at the latest.” Right now, it doesn’t look as though that goal will be achieved. Meanwhile, other governments are actively embracing the challenge, despite the cost of the required investment in infrastructure.
The Swedish government’s aggressive investment in broadband infrastructure has pushed the country to sixth place on the list of the world leaders in high-speed access. Countries across Africa are investing in technology and calling in global high-tech firms to help bring broadband service to the people. And in Australia, a proposed national broadband strategy has pushed connectivity and technology to the forefront of public debate.
Australia’s communication minister recently described what’s at stake for his country — either “deliver high-speed broadband and allow Australia to compete in the global digital economy, or languish in the digital dark ages.” The government there says it will spend $4.57-billion to make high-speed access available to all but a few of the country’s citizens.
Canada faces many of the same challenges as Sweden and Australia in terms of finding ways to thrive as a smaller nation in a world of economic giants. Leading the way technologically — especially as it pertains to the Internet, which will be increasingly dominant and essential — seems a promising and logical course to pursue.
These days, a fundamental part of any modern national vision must be the pursuit of a truly national strategy for delivering universal and affordable access to broadband technology. Economic leadership and technological leadership have become intertwined; Without the technological backbone, it will become more and more difficult to maintain a healthy and prosperous economy.
In the 21st century broadband must be treated as part of a nation’s core infrastructure. Canada has the opportunity — and now the means as well — to do just that.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Michael Janigan, Janet Yale and Mark Goldberg
Quelle/Source: Financial Post, 07.07.2008
