Competition And Culture On Canada S Information Highway

This report gathers information, seeks input, provides critical analysis and reports on a number of matters, as they relate to the Commission's area of responsibility, respecting the development of content and competition policies for new communications technologies and services that will comprise the information highway. More precisely, topics covered are: culture and competition; competition and facilities; confirming Canadian values; public places in a digital world; and other issues.

The Canadian government created an advisory council to provide advice on 15 issues related to development of a Canadian strategy for the information highway. Such a strategy would be based on the objectives of job creation, reinforcement of Canadian sovereignty and identity, and ensuring universal access at reasonable cost. In addition, the strategy would be guided by four operating principles: competition, privacy protection/network security, collaborative private/public sector development, and an interconnected and interoperable network of networks. This report reviews the council's deliberations and conclusions on those issues, in chapters covering the nature of the information highway, competitiveness and job creation, Canadian content and culture, the human dimension, learning and training, research and development, and implementation. The report concludes with the council's recommendations. Appendices include a glossary.

To determine effective public policy in the domain of the information highway, it is necessary to consider Canada's present competitive position and performance and to make a careful assessment of infrastructure development and cultural policy, the two major challenges facing the country. This essay contains suggestions on how Canada ought to address the challenges posed by the emergence of the information highway. It describes the opportunities and challenges of the information highway; market intermediaries and their role for content and transfer services; structural and regulatory considerations; and international dimensions.

This paper was prepared at the Information Highway Advisory Council request to promote public awareness about the issues of access, affordability and universal service on the information highway and to encourage public comment. Topics examined are: how can an advanced information infrastructure improve the growth and competitiveness of Canadian businesses; how can we ensure universal, affordable access to essential services for all Canadians; how can we develop an appropriate balance between competition and regulation; and, how can we promote the development and distribution of Canadian culture and content.

This action plan aims at providing Canadians with a national framework for building an Information Highway that meets Canadians' needs, a framework that will facilitate Canada's transition toward an information society and knowledge economy. The action plan is made up of four strategic thrusts: building Canada's information highway; growing Canadian content; realizing the economic and social benefits for all Canadians; and, getting government right.

Contents: Part I: Print Industries Book Publishing, Rowland Lorimer Periodical Publishing, Lon Dubinsky Newspaper Publishing, Christopher Dornan Part II: Sound Industries Sound Recording,

This volume critically examines the transition from monopoly to competition in the U.S. and Canadian telecommunications industries. it looks at the history of the telephone industry, its regulation, and over a century of related public policy.

This volume is a compilation of papers reflecting many of the issues related to telecommunications that are being debated today and are likely to continue to be addressed in the next few years. The papers examine the ways in which economic and technological forces are changing the regulation of telecommunications and the characteristics of the industry itself. After an introduction on issues such as the information highway, industry consolidation, market integration, and constraints on new policies, the papers cover such topics as the changes in Canadian telecommunications and their economics, the role of telecommunications in productivity and competition, the business network concept as an alternative governance structure, competition policy, convergence of technologies, separation of infrastructure from services, European telecommunications policy, and the historical context in which Canada has handled earlier transformations of a technological nature.