Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Review of basic telecommunications services, April 11, 2016

In this hearing I explain why the CRTC should focus on demand, not supply. The CRTC should focus on the actual technologies and services that users adopt, not on network speeds. Most of the services that clearly belong in the bundle of basic commitments – affordable access to a reliable communications platform that provides access to emergency services, essential government services and information, employment applications, and even basic e-commerce – do not require a class of service sufficient to support high quality streaming video. A modest basic telecommunications policy that allows people to participate in the digital economy can achieve more than a policy promising to deliver the fastest speeds to everyone. How to provision communications networks to support important social commitments requires a more critical view than has been offered to date.
Articles from ProMarket at the University of Chicago Stigler Center
Here are my articles from ProMarket at the University of Chicago Stigler Center.
Five things about the US Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)
With a $14 billion appropriation from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has enrolled some 18 million households in a short period of time….
Broadband Fair Share myths – you ain’t seen nothing yet. Just ask Facebook
There is discussion now in policy circles is the notion of “fair share” and “fair contribution” to broadband networks. Let’s just say what everyone knows: nothing in life is fair….
South Korea takes the next step in global broadband leadership with the Network Free Ride Prevention Act
Strand Consult has followed the development of South Korea for more than two decades. In the early 2000s Strand Consult demonstrated how South Korea, not Japan as many believed, made…
National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Committee on ICT, Broadcasting and Communications. Testimony on the Network Free Ride Prevention Act, November 10, 2022
I have studied the Republic of Korea closely for the last decade as part of an industrial PhD program at Aalborg University’s Center for Communication, Media and Information Technologies in…
A global movement for broadband fair cost recovery is underway. John Strand talks with internet policy experts Roslyn Layton and Petrus Potgieter
Why do you have such a big interest in the way companies charge for traffic on the internet and what you call “fair cost recovery”? CEO John Strand talks with…
Seal The Deal On Verizon-TracFone, Say Public Interest Groups
Public Knowledge, Access Humboldt, the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society, the California Center for Rural Policy, and Communications Workers of America withdrew pricing and competition concerns for a proposed…
What’s In The Broadband Component Of The Infrastructure Bill
The Senate passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and awaits passage in the House. Here’s an overview of the broadband portion of the $1 trillion package. What’s in the…
Understanding the 5G vs. Wi-Fi Debate: The Global Push for Unlicensed Spectrum
This report offers an important comparison between 5G and Wi-Fi, two important technology which compete. The FCC declares that 5G and Wi-Fi are complementary technologies, but there is an intense…
Biden’s $100B Broadband Plan Gives Big Tech A Free Ride
The White House recently called for 100 percent high speed broadband coverage with a whopping $100 billion price tag. The goal to ensure coverage to all Americans is commendable as…
Some mobile operators may find it difficult to understand why the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded for innovation in spectrum auctions
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2020 Economics Nobel Prize to Stanford University’s Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson “for improvements to auction theory and inventions of…
You are Not Welcome: An Analysis of Thousands Foreign Technology Companies Blocked by China Since 1996
The media makes blow-by-blow coverage of US restrictions on sensitive technology trade with China, however it rarely covers China’s blockade of entire categories of foreign goods and services for decades….