National strategy on ICT adoption required: BCE chief executive Sabia

The chief executive of communications giant BCE Inc. is calling on the federal government to make information and communications technologies (ICT) adoption a national priority. Michael Sabia made the comments in Ottawa on December 6 at CAN>WIN 05, a one-day event which discussed ways to improve Canada’s lagging labour economic productivity. "We need a co-ordinated, driven, focused, national strategy within Canada, an information technology leader on a global basis," he said. "This should become a national priority that would change the way we think about the use and distribution of technology." Sabia suggested that Canada’s top politician should take the lead with this type of strategy. "First, this needs to be a national priority of our national government and I think it needs to be led by the Prime Minister…but with the participation of a lot of other people in the private sector and the public sector as well. This is not about keeping the two solitudes separated from the rest of the country, but rather bringing those two together under the leadership of the political leader of our country." The BCE CEO singled out efforts in Ontario being led by Premier Dalton McGuinty, who created a new portfolio, which he himself is leading, dedicated to improving the economic output of the province. (Report on Wireless affiliate publication Network Letter will have more on this and the CAN>WIN 05 conference in an upcoming issue.) Highlighting the importance of ICTs, Sabia stated they have the ability to significantly improve our national efficiency across different industry sectors and across the entire country. "I think these technologies are really essential to bridging the productivity gap we have in Canada," he added. "In effect what these technologies do is they have the power to change the way people work to make them more efficient, or in other words to make them more productive," Sabia said. There is evidence that supports this proposition. Studies have shown that labour productivity can increase significantly through workplace adoption of information and communications technologies. Sabia highlighted a US Chamber of Commerce study that showed 75% of US labour productivity gains between 1995 and 2004 were "directly attributable to advances in telecommunications and Internet technologies." He added that a similar study done in Canada showed that as much as 60% of Canada’s productivity gap with the United States can be attributed to "the greater use of ICT in the US." The BCE chief executive also pointed to South Korea and Ireland as examples of the positive impact that ICT adoption can bring to a country’s economy. Ireland transformed itself into one of the leading developers of software in the world, Sabia said, adding that this was done through a series of government-led initiatives. Sweden is another example he said where ICTs had a dramatic impact on the country’s businesses. Small businesses in that country are considered to be among the most e-ready companies in the world, Sabia stated. With the heart of the Canada’s economy driven by small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), he said there are many things the government can do to improve the plight of small business. One key area, he stated was a better tax policy for SMBs, adding that the British government allows SMBs to deduct 100% of the first $100,000 investment in ICT. Broadband access is also a key element to improving Canada’s productivity. Sabia said there needs to be aggressive targets set for the deployment of high-speed networks, perhaps "to provide high-speed broadband access to all Canadians and achieve it before the end of the decade." Bell Canada is doing its part, said Sabia. The company and Rogers Communications Inc. plan to roll out a broadband wireless network across the country through their joint venture Inukshuk Internet Inc. The project, however, is on hold as the companies battle government regulators over spectrum cap considerations. The CAN>WIN 05 conference, sponsored by Microsoft Canada and the Conference Board of Canada, explored many issues surrounding the lagging productivity gap between Canada and the United States. It also offered a keynote presentation on the transformation of Ireland from an agriculture-based economy to one that is leading in the information technology space. Many at the conference noted that the timing of the conference couldn’t have been better given the election campaign. Speakers and delegates noted that the time was ripe to get this issue on the election agenda. . Improving the economic prosperity and labour productivity output of Canada will continue to be a new and emerging area of coverage for Decima Reports’ publications Report on Wireless and Network Letter. More on the conference will be presented in an upcoming issue of Network Letter.

National strategy on ICT adoption required: BCE chief executive Sabia

News | 12/14/2005 5:00 am EST

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