Wireless Network Competition Boosts Innovation
Theme: Growing the ICT Industry
Idea Status: +25 | Total Votes: 29 | Comments: 1
I believe that the Government should more actively support and encourage (through legislation) the existence of a more competitive marketplace for wireless device networks in Canada.
Competition between greater numbers of service providers has been proven to boost innovation and growth in the tech sector as a whole (see link).
When people have the best technology available and they can access it at low cost, they are more inclined to use it and more able to innovate with it.
If the government owned the wireless infrastructure in Canada, it could mandate that private service providers submit RFPs in order to have access to the infrastructure. This would ensure that the lowest possible consumer costs are kept in effect. Government could focus on maintenance of the towers etc., leaving the service companies to deal with the customer interaction.
The EU is already way ahead in terms of inciting competition, and thus growth, in the wireless sector.
Comment
Joanne Stanley — 2010–06–19 16:37:50 EDT wrote
Women — An Underutilized Human Resource in Canada's ICT sector.
From 2008 – 2015, Canadian employers will need to fill up to 178,800 new jobs in IT. But undergraduate enrollment at most Canadian universities in technology–related programs is down by 50% since 2002. The impacts of an aging workforce, declining fertility and technological change will further increase the shortage of highly qualified technology personnel.
But an existing and under–utilized human resource is Canada's women. Women are under–represented in all advanced technology sectors.
Canadian economic growth depends on the availability of good scientific and technical talent. Increasing this talent pool by including the women of Canada will not only increase that total number of IT workers, it will also increase the number of top workers.
I recommend a co–ordinated, integrated national action plan in collaboration with government, industry, associations and education institutions to widen the pipeline of young women entering ICT and other technology sectors and plug the leaks that are currently causing many to leave.
