Stick to your principles, question everything, CRTC chair advises successor

OTTAWA—Outgoing CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein offered up two key pieces of advice to his yet-to-be-declared successor at a conference Tuesday: stick to the commission’s principles and question everything. In what may be his last public address as chairman before his term expires Jan. 25, von Finckenstein reflected on the past five years, during which he’s led the commission. In a 25-minute interview with Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association CEO Bernard Lord at the the International Institute of Communications conference, von Finckenstein, 66, also discussed the CRTC's future. “I didn’t expect that I would have to be in semi-crisis mode the whole time,” Von Finckenstein said when asked what surprised him most during his term. “Every time we tried to solve something, the ground would change and a new perspective would arise.” The Conservative government says it will soon announce a new selection process to replace von Finckenstein. But time is running out for competitive process for the job, making an interim chair of the CRTC now likely come Jan. 25. In offering advice for a successor, von Finkenstein said it is pivotal to follow the commission’s principles of transparency, predictability, fairness and timeliness when reaching decisions. “Predictability is key. People have to know where you are coming from and what are the rules because they are investing millions of dollars,” he said. It is also important to question everything and not be “co-opted” by the industry. “I found that coming new to the sector, people would say, ‘Oh well, we’ve always done it,’” he said, discussing how he tried to understand prevailing practices in the telecom and broadcasting sectors. “Well that’s wonderful what’s the rationale? Why? Half the time, people couldn’t remember anymore, in which case, clearly, we don’t have to do it anymore.” He said industry representatives were very passionate about their jobs and that they would do everything they could to convince the future chair to align policy with corporate interests. “They’re very good at convincing you of their point of view,” he said. He added that it is important to get out to see the country to determine how the commission’s policies affect Canadians—not just the telco and broadcasting sectors. When asked to reflect on his own performance, von Finckenstein said the Oct. 2009 release of the net neutrality decision and this summer's conversion from over-the-air analog to digital television broadcasting are among his two best days on the job. “Nobody knew how this was going to play out because the data we had was very insufficient,” he said of the digital transition on Aug. 31. “Other countries ... had seen major problems.” The commission received only 28 complaints about the transition, which he said “affects every Canadian.” Von Finckenstein said his worst day on the job was this February when he appeared before a parliamentary committee to defend the commission’s now-revised decision on wholesale usage-based billing for Internet reseller companies. “ trying to explain it, and realized that nobody understood what I was talking about,” he said, provoking laughter from the crowd. As he sat there before the committee, he said, he realized that maybe the commission’s logic on the decision didn’t make sense. “Maybe we actually didn’t get it right, so it donned on me that we would have to go deeper.” As to what he will do after his term ends next year, he said: “The next challenge is finding something equally as interesting as the CRTC.” nkyonka@thewirereport.ca

Stick to your principles, question everything, CRTC chair advises successor

News | November 29, 2011

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Stick to your principles, question everything, CRTC chair advises successor

News | November 29, 2011

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