Alternative Telecommunications Policy Forum

I'll be kicking off the Alternative Telecommunications Policy Forum in Ottawa, Canada this Thursday, October 19, 2006. Alt Telecom is a self-styled summit of "policy experts, community groups, public interest advocates, and academics" gathering together "to discuss and debate the future of telecommunications policy and regulation," and it's shaping up to be a wicked-good time. Right afterwards I'm heading to the MuniWireless Conference in Minneapolis -- the highlight for me is going to be the Sunday Digital Inclusion Day.

Here's a synopsis of Alt Telecom:

Alternative Telecommunications Policy Forum: A citizen-centred, community-oriented perspective on telecommunications policy and regulation.

As the federal government considers the TPRP recommendations, a window of opportunity exists to influence proposed changes to Canada's telecommunications policy and regulatory landscape.

The two-day Alternative Telecommunications Policy Forum will bring together telecommunications policy experts, community groups, public interest advocates, trade unionists, and academics to discuss and debate the future of telecommunications policy and regulation as they impact on the lives of Canadians and their communities.

The Forum will offer informative panels and discussions on a variety of topics, and will provide an opportunity for representatives from diverse telecommunications counter-publics to network and organize as we go forward. The Forum will produce a final report to be forwarded to the Minister of Industry, Hon. Maxime Bernier.

Among the topics to be addressed by keynotes and panelists are:

- Telecommunications and the Public Good: Are market forces the answer?
- Municipal broadband: An idea whose times has come?
- The 'Net Neutrality' debate and what it means for Canada
- Digital opportunities for whom? Creating ICT programs that work for Canadian Communities
- From consultation to engagement: how can we get Ottawa to listen?
- Foreign ownership limits in Canadian telecommunications
- Rethinking institutions of regulation: Democratizing the institutions of telecommunications regulation and governance

The Alternative Telecommunications Policy Forum will be of interest to community networks; voluntary sector organizations; civil servants and parliamentarians; labour unions; women's groups; journalists; disability advocates; telecommunications consumer groups, telecommunications researchers; academics and municipalities.

The Forum is being organized by the Canadian Research Alliance for Community Innovation and Networking (CRACIN), a multi-year project funded by SSHRC whose goals are to bring together community informatics researchers, community networking practitioners and government policy specialists from across Canada to document and assess the achievements of community-based ICT initiatives in the context of, among other things, the main Canadian government programs promoting the development, public accessibility and use of internet services.