Canadian Telecom Summit - Here I Come

After 10 years in the industry, this is finally my year to go to the Canadian Telecom Summit. To be fair, it’s only been in the past 6 years that I’ve been aware of it, and yet denied access, for various and sundry reasons. Primarily budget ;-)
But this year - the gates are open.  I’m going to be able to see people that I’ve only read about. Learn things I’ve only heard whisperings about. Andrea Messineo, from AT&T is going to be good. I’ve heard Pierre Blouin (MTS) speak a few times… passionately, I might add. It will be good to hear John A McDonald as well.

But I’m really looking forward to the up-and-comers: Virgin Mobile’s Andrew Black and John Maduri from Barrett Xplore. (I wish that the guy from Amp’d Mobile Canada was going to be there, but beggars cannot be choosers)  Word on the street is that Janet Yale, the EVP of Corporate Affairs for TELUS is a firecracker, and I can’t wait to see her take on the other Regulatory folks in an exclusive panel.

But this year - the world is my oyster. The Canadian Telecom Summit… followed closely by NXT Comm. It’s going to be a busy June :-)

GST Conferences :: Home Page for The 2007 Canadian Telecom Summit

Technorati Tags: Canadian telecom Summit, Toronto

Overruling the CRTC on VoIP Services

Ottawa to block CRTC on Internet phone regulation
SIMON TUCK
From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail
OTTAWA — The Harper government will announce Wednesday its intention to rewrite the CRTC’s key ruling on Internet-based telephone services, a highly unusual move that could mark a big step toward a more open and consumer-friendly sector.Industry Minister Maxime Bernier will say in a speech in Toronto that the Conservative government will again block the CRTC’s repeated efforts to regulate phone services that run over the Internet.

globeandmail.com: Ottawa to block CRTC on Internet phone regulation

Holy Cats! What are the implications of the Harper government overruling the CRTC? Likely it’s a good thing, changing the rules of how digital voice services are treated, but the implications of the government getting involved in CRTC policy making are wide reaching. First VoIP, then the world? This first forray into the CRTC domain is positive, but what if the conservatives what to delve into something and change it for the worse? Does the CRTC have any recourse?

Mark, you probably know more of the answers - what do you think?

technorati tags:CRTC, Harper, Canada, Telecom