Steve Anderson's blog

Audio from my April 27, 2010 presentation for the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage concerning EMERGING AND DIGITAL MEDIA: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Here are OpenMedia.ca's presentation notes for the House of Commons hearings regarding community television policy framework.

Audio from my April 27, 2010 presentation for the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage concerning EMERGING AND DIGITAL MEDIA: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Find this article in The Tyee, rabble.ca, Common Ground, and VUE Weekly.

Last month, in both the speech from the Throne and release of the budget, the government had a perfect opportunity to address Canada's deficit in Internet openness or "Net Neutrality." It should have seized this opportunity to present an openness agenda. If the Conservatives are committed to lifting foreign ownership rules for the telecommunication industry, as mentioned in their speech, why aren't they first ensuring that Canadians enjoy open access to all the Internet has to offer from our current providers? Seems like they are putting the cart before the horse, or rather the carriers before the users.

In what many consider a major victory for the open media movement, last fall the CRTC developed new "traffic management" guidelines. However, under these new guidelines, the CRTC will not enforce its own framework and instead, the onus falls on the consumer to file a complaint and prove that an ISP is unjustly throttling (degrading) the Internet. It is unfair to force consumers to somehow obtain the technical and policy expertise to make their case effectively before the CRTC, and to also out maneuver some of most powerful businesses in the country.

An interesting little talk on the importance of digital literacy and active citizen engagement in media.

Find this article in The Tyee, rabble.ca, Common Ground, and VUE Weekly.

There is something uniquely powerful about everyday people having access to the Internet from tiny devices in their pocket. That ubiquitous access to each other creates possibilities that are worth fighting for and saving. The mobile- and wireless-accessed Internet, combined with emerging open web and open-data applications, has the potential to usher in a new era of connectedness and, with it, dramatic changes to social practices and institutions. If we get digital public policy right, Canada could become a leader in mobile communications, leading to empowerment, job creation and new forms of entrepreneurialism, expression and social change.

To harness this opportunity, politicians and policy makers will need to develop a digital strategy for Canada with a central focus on mobile communications and Canada's broadband infrastructure. To be successful in the long term, we'll need a "made in Canada" strategy that captures the imagination, vision and ingenuity of people from across Canada.