Panel: Industry Visions Dennis Lewycky opened the session by introducing panel mem- bers. Richard Cavanagh: Stentor Telecom Policy Inc. Richard Cavanagh, Director of Social Policy at Stentor Telecom Policy Inc. (STPI), began his presentation by explaining that Stentor is an alliance of major regional telephone com- panies; STPI is Stentor's government relations and policy advis- ory body. He then introduced himself, noting that his background is not in telecommunications. Before being hired by Stentor, Cavanagh worked as a lobbyist at the Canadian Conference of the Arts and as an instructor in communications at various univer- sities. "This session on industry visions interested me," said Cavanagh, "because Stentor seems to be in the business of vision." In October 1993, Stentor issued a vision statement, outlining its position on issues such as government policy and regulation. It also issued a statement on culture, announcing an allocation of $50 million to the sector. Stentor has also pub- lished a paper addressing issues such as the impact of the infor- mation highway on jobs and economic competitiveness, as well as education, health care and disability issues. "It's time to put words into action," Cavanagh proclaimed, noting that there are many vehicles available. More time should be spent lobbying groups such as Stentor, because people in the telecommunications industry are "a harder nut to crack" than the government or community groups. He told participants that "A group like this one can get the telephony culture out of the dark ages and into the light." Regarding Stentor's development of its vision, Cavanagh noted that often what is left behind is the focus on what people Ä Canadians and customers Ä want. Stentor asked the general public what they wanted out of the services Stentor could provide in the information highway arena. Discussion boiled down to three main themes: * Access; * Choice in services (here services in education and health care came first, while infotainment ranked last); and * A commitment to community even in the face of competition. One possible model is community television. Stentor has attempted to respond to each of these concerns, said Cavanagh. In terms of access, Stentor is developing a uni- versal product design to facilitate access by people living with disabilities. Competition will breed choice and lower prices, but it is necessary to define what is meant by "universal" access. "From our perspective, the community is the starting point, the cornerstone for the development of the information highway." Cavanagh pointed out that Stentor shareholders are increasingly interested in its activities in the community sec- tor. FreeNets, SchoolNet and PharmaNet are the building blocks of the information highway, and they also present business opportu- nities. In Alberta, PharmaNet is a network that is making health care accessible and is saving the province a great deal of money. Issues that need to be examined are: how the information highway will be paid for and by whom, subsidization, and regula- tory flexibility. "Future networking at the community-level needs to be facilitated," said Cavanagh. Stentor has made a public commitment to culture, education and health care. It has recognized the importance of community networking. However there is a need for feedback from the community. Cavanagh concluded his presentation with "a piece of blunt advice" for the way in which community groups should communicate with the industry sec- tor: "The more you can frame this (feedback) as a business op- portunity, the more successful you will be." Bruce Matheson: Rogers Cable 22 West Bruce Matheson, Program Manager of Rogers 22 West, noted that his presentation would focus on Rogers, community TV and Cable TV. While community TV had been approached for coverage of the conference, no teams were available to film the sessions, Matheson explained. He pointed out that the merger of Roger and Maclean Hunter had been keeping the staff at Rogers busy lately. Matheson gave a brief history of community TV and access issues, including a recent period of reduced accessibility. "We feel we should get back to our grassroots," he said. Community TV was one of the first companies to become involved in the Na- tional Capital FreeNet (NCF). Community TV became involved in NCF to get community feedback, for promotional purposes, and to generate resource material for program development. In September 1995, community TV will launch a World-Wide Web site complete with graphics. Other activities planned for the future include: the development of multiple channels; an automated interactive play system; video downloading; producing; making community coun- cil meetings more accessible, and disseminating community mes- sages with voice and video components. "While we continue to be technologically involved, we can't lose sight of the community," said Matheson. Community TV will continue to develop community relationships, involve volunteers and use advisory boards. Because it has a self-expression man- date, community TV will promote self-expression success stories. Matheson explained that Rogers will provide the hard- and software for SchooLink, a network that will link 1300 schools. It is also exploring telecommuting, testing the concept with IBM employees in Newmarket. Matheson concluded his speech on a posi- tive note by referring to an article in Canadian Business that states that a software that enables the teaching of maths is currently "the hottest selling franchise". Rainer Paduch: fONOROLA i*internet Rainer Paduch, President of fONOROLA i*internet, used a series of overheads to describe what fONOROLA i*internet has done, and where it is going with regard to the information high- way. "We're focussed on building a national network, because we're getting impatient with the telephone companies," he said. Commenting on an earlier speaker's reference to a Mac truck on the information superhighway, he noted that the Mac truck is going down a dirt road: "The best way to describe the informa- tion highway is using two words þ `under construction'." An important issue to be examined is transportation versus content, said Paduch. Transportation is a standard telephone company problem. He noted that the Internet is moving out of the realm of research and development and becoming mainstream. It is one of the most affordable means of communication, costing modem users approximately $1 per hour, or 1.6 cents per minute. One of the interesting features of the Internet, Paduch pointed out, is that users can make their own content available to other users. Paduch then gave a brief overview of fONOROLA i*internet. "fONOROLA i*internet is...focussed on developing Internet capa- bility across the country," he explained. This company is look- ing at hooking up some of the more isolated communities. One example of this initiative is in Northern Quebec, where selected communities will have Internet connectivity in autumn, 1995. "By Fall we will have a presence in every major city, and the smaller towns will be able to have access to the Internet through these centres," Paduch stated. He then gave participants a general background to the Inter- net. Describing the Internet as a "ChaosNet" that is available to everyone, Paduch pointed out that the majority of people who go online are from the United States. However, there is a sub- stantial number of Canadians online and the number of people connected to the information highway is growing rapidly. It is important to think about network performance, Paduch said. For example, it takes a very long time to download a video through a modem: "You need a faster connection that is good qual- ity, like a Rogers connection." He stressed that the information highway is a "dirt track". If people are using the information highway only to get a TV picture, then they are better off hook- ing up to a cable system. "Consider what you want out of the Internet," he said. "The price is fairly nominal and you can get a lot out of it." Com- munities can gather lots of information through the Internet, some if it for free, and some at a cost. David Sutherland: Response David Sutherland, Chair of the Board of National Capital FreeNet, Director of Computing Services at Carleton University, and member of the federal Information Highway advisory council responded to the panel. "There isn't an information-highway," noted Sutherland. "It's just a bunch of ideas." Sutherland pointed out some new developments that are making the information highway more accessible. "All electronic infor- mation is now being moved to a common form, and it's digital instead of on analog," he said. This will ensure that a common carrier can be used for video and other services. This develop- ment is what is referred to when people talk about convergence, said Sutherland. Once information is in a mathematical form, digital and video compression can take place, which could lead to the 500-channel universe. Wireless communication is another medium that will enhance accessibility. This development will lead to microcellular tele- phony, which will also be based on the digital system. This type of communication will be available as early as autumn. It will be able to process voice, and provide Internet access. A parallel development can be seen in the satellite indus- try. Direct home transmission is making inroads in England, although it is still being debated in Canada. "This medium could change universal access issues," stated Sutherland. It will also change concerns regarding the delivery of services now limited by geography. Hook-ups to low earth orbit satellites will cost only $1 per minute from anywhere in the entire world. Using this information as a backdrop, Sutherland addressed key points made by the panel speakers. "Universal access is a serious problem; the question is, access to what? What are people willing to pay for? He noted that not everybody wants access to the information highway, and it is therefore necessary to figure out what people are willing to pay for it. He stressed the need for a definition of minimal universal service: the Information Highway Advisory Council (IHAC) attempted such a definition, but all they could come up with was cheap telephone service that is high quality. Access has to be defined in terms of human needs, and whether it promotes better health care ser- vices, banking, access to legal services and education. Sutherland said he liked the comments on community network- ing as represented by community TV. "We should reserve the right of way þ not necessarily pay for it þ but ensure that we have space for community TV," Sutherland stated. Sutherland referred to a book entitled Life after Television by George Gilder, who predicts that bandwidth will become free. This would upset the current economics which are established on the assumption that band width is very expensive. Gilder draws a parallel with the computer industry, showing that although there were seven computer companies ten years ago, because of the intr- oduction of the microchip, the only computer company to survive is IBM. A similar phenomenon will happen with cable companies, Gilder predicts. "We're just on the edge of inexpensive bandwidth. Things are going to change a lot. We're going to deal with a significant social revolution as a result of the technical revolution," Sutherland concluded. General Discussion Addressing his comments to Cavanagh and Matheson, a delegate noted that both speakers had addressed the idea of community space. He asked whether or not Matheson's job would still remain if all community TV's stories could be posted only with FreeNet permission. The delegate noted that neither Rogers nor Stentor had mentioned a community channel in their submissions to the CRTC. Stentor did, however, say that it would not support a community channel. "Given the way your organizations have acted on the policy level," asked the delegate, "how can we trust that you are going to implement access?" Cavanagh responded that in the convergence process, Stentor said it would discuss ways to approach the community channel that do not follow the current model. This model has failed on a number of fronts. "I do think an alternative is a necessary component," he noted, adding that deliberations such as the pre- sent one should be held to find out what constitutes an accept- able version of public space. He referred to a comment made the previous day by a speaker from New Brunswick who noted that people have to engage in a lobbying exercise. "It's a balancing process," said Cavanagh, noting that community groups have to approach industry groups. "How do we do that at a practical level?" the delegate asked. Cavanagh noted that a number of reports are being released, such as the IHAC report. His hope is that these will contain recommendations to hold consultations with community groups. One way for the dialogue to start is for industry to listen, just as it is doing at this conference. Matheson noted that he has been involved with community TV for 14 years. At first people used to shoot home vide type pro- grammes. "A change took place, and suddenly people wanted to look slick," he noted. There are two camps within community TV, he added: those who believe the channel is filling in for the local broadcaster, and those believe community TV is getting away from issues of access to become providers instead. Matheson predicted that community TV will break in two: one channel will provide pure public access, while the other will be a local orig- ination channel that is commercial. Matheson noted that commu- nity TV is being asked to cover more and more events. However, people are not willing to get training in order to shoot their own films; instead, they find it easier to sit in front of a computer and go online. He noted that the Internet will make it easier for community TV to shoot films in communities for editing in a central location. A participant asked the industry representatives how they were dealing with the issue of copyright, and whether they saw themselves as owning the material they carried. Cavanagh noted that Stentor has developed an interest in rights issues: "We've said we'll be carriers and not gate-keepers. We're distributors, not owners." Another delegate referred to the thousands of layoffs that have occurred recently in telephone companies. "The continued economic viability of the community is important," he said, "and instead it gets lopped off." He asked that conversations about competitiveness be refocussed, as we are going through a transi- tion period at present: "Instead of focussing on competitiveness, we should create a framework of what we want and ensure that companies fulfill it," he stated. "The cable rebel- lion is a good model for how we can model ours." The speaker referred to a Stentor initiative, modelled after one in the U.S. called Ameritech, that is marketed to the top 20% of online users, while the rest of the users are phased out. This is not a viable model, he said. He noted that the Premier of New Bruns- wick said he would provide community access to online services, but asked the community to do it. "We have to force the cable companies to do this, and not talk about competitiveness," he concluded. Quoting Noam Chomsky, a group member said the mass media forms "a smoke and mirrors society". The panel members are re- presentatives of the central authority of the 'Net, he said. "Looking at the panel, I see four white men who represent the central authority of the Internet, I don't see decentralization." He asked for access to these companies' corporate and technical reports, saying that this would be decentralization. He pointed to IBM's predicament as an illustration of increased centraliz- ation. "When Rogers and Stentor start providing the service, there's no way any small company could compete. Instead, these companies would have to go to Rogers and Stentor. This goes against my vision of an anarchy net," he concluded. One participant asked the panelists to do a thought experi- ment, engage in a paradigm shift, and imagine that they are in their backyards speaking with their neighbours. He asked them to play out this scenario, and to respond to their neighbour's ques- tion: "What is progress now?" He referred to Irene Seiferling's image of a kaleidoscope zeroing in on a dialogue taking place in a market square. Marita Moll, a member of the steering committee for the conference, thanked Stentor for having provided financial backing for the conference. She went on to remark that local measured service would increase costs so much as to destroy all the ac- cessibility to electronic networks that community groups have been working for. "We have to make sure that you know there'll be an open revolt if this goes through," she concluded. Mitchell Beer, President of InfoLink Consultants, thanked fONOROLA i*internet for having provided the link to the Internet for on- site tutorials. Following this question period, panel members made their closing comments. Cavanagh noted that in his vision of progress, the notion of a kaleidoscopic view of a market place was a starting point to address the question of decentralization. He noted that a group of companies as large as the Stentor group can do a lot to bring down barriers to access. This can be seen in the success that Stentor has had in lobbying the government to get more access for people living with disabilities. However, he pointed out that in big business it is difficult to convince CEOs that initiatives are viable if there is no market effect. Referring to comments about Ameritech, Cavanagh said he had never heard of it before. He added, however, that there is no question that companies market their products to people who use online services most. He concluded by saying that a lot of discussion must occur before positions can be taken. Matheson said that he could not speak for Ted Rogers' vision of progress. Rogers has had a humbling experience with the consumer backlash it has undergone, and so things can only get better. He emphasized that it is necessary to start building strong community relations. Responding to the thought experiment that a participant asked him to embark on, Matheson said his neighbours weren't interested in the information highway. Instead, they were interested in CHCH and City TV applying for licenses in Ottawa, as this would mean that they would have access to more sports coverage. They also rejected the idea of having to pay for a service that they didn't use. Matheson concluded by saying that some online services will have to be free, and that this is a social responsibility. Paduch started his closing comments by noting that fONOROLA has had to hire rather than fire people. "We have to balance our requirements with community expectations," he noted. Referring to a participant's request for access to fONOROLA's technical and corporate reports, Paduch noted that it is not possible to disclose this information because of competition. The "tug of war" between the interests of large companies and those of their shareholders and community groups make fora like the current one a requirement, he concluded. Dennis Lewycky thanked the panelists, and the session was adjourned.