The Canadian experience of building an information highway
In 1994, the Ministry of Industry of Canada prepared a report "Building a more innovative Economy", which discussed ways in which the state, using information technology, can achieve economic and social goals. To develop the ideas contained in the report, two programs were implemented: the Canadian Network for the Development of Industrial Research and Education (the goal is to introduce high-speed networks) and SchoolNet, one of the world's leading educational networks.
An action plan has been developed involving more than 30 government agencies (Building the Information Society: Moving Canada into the 21st Century / Ministry of Supply and Services, Canada, 1996). It is proposed to make the transition to an information society and knowledge economy using the Canadian Information Highway.
Attention was focused on the fact that coordinated actions by the state, the private sector and public organizations are needed to achieve this goal.
Four main tasks were set:
1) to build a Canadian Information Highway by creating conditions for competition and regulation that would meet the public interest, promote innovation, investment, and the development of new services;
2) increase Canadian content, develop national dialogue, create new jobs, give a new impetus to economic development;
3) realize economic and social benefits for all Canadians, which will give them the opportunity to personally participate in the formation of the information society;
4) to make the state more accessible and responsible.
As a result, one of the most modern telecommunications and broadcasting systems has been created in Canada. It was the result of coordinated actions aimed at overcoming the distances and geographical conditions that divide Canadians.
So, the work on the part of the state began in 1994, when the Advisory Council on the Information Highway was founded to prepare government proposals. The council's activities are aimed at:
creating jobs through innovation and investment;
strengthening Canada's sovereignty and cultural identity;
ensuring universal access at affordable prices; The Council's work is based on five basic principles:
1) interaction and interconnection of networks;
2) Cooperation in the field of public and private sector development;
3) protection of privacy;
4) Network security;
5) Lifelong learning.
In September 1995, the Council published the final report "Connection, Community, Content: The Challenge of the Information Highway", which formulated more than 300 specific proposals for government action. The task of the government, according to the authors of the report, is to create a competitive environment in which Canadian firms would be able to increase national wealth. The Federal Government must ensure that the information highway creates jobs and promotes economic growth in every sector of the economy. Where market forces cannot provide equal access or create prerequisites for it, the government should act there. A national strategy is proposed for access to basic services by legislating access to information for all Canadians.
As noted in the report, in the new information economy, success will be determined by the market, not the state. Therefore, the main role of the state should be to establish rules, and it itself should be a kind of model (example, model). Government agencies themselves must also go through the reengineering stage.
The Canadian government pays special attention to culture and the digitalization of cultural heritage. First of all, this implies the support of own production of mass media. It should be noted that it was the desire to preserve its cultural identity, support for the creation of its own mass media that allowed Canada to turn into a major exporter of film and video products in a few years, and defend its position in the American market.
The strategy of access to services and content is based on four principles:
1) Universal, affordable and equal access;
2) consumer orientation and diversity of information;
3) competence and participation of citizens;
4) Open and interactive networks The Council recommended that the Government, while liberalizing the rules of telecommunications regulation, strive to eliminate outdated and unnecessary barriers to competition and introduce protection against anti-competitive practices. In addition, the State itself must become a leader in the introduction and use of electronic information and communication systems, which will allow all Canadians to be able to communicate and interact with government departments and agencies by electronic means.
Thus, the role of the State is to ensure a balance between competition and regulation, the freedom to use encryption to protect privacy and personal communications and the need to protect public interests from terrorists, freedom of speech and expression and the protection of morality and the interests of minors.
This balance should be established and provided for by the state itself, since market forces cannot do this. This also includes education, telemedicine, the idea of universal access to network services and information, and access to government information.
The following recommendations to the state are interesting for us:
the federal government should recognize the urgent need to address regulatory standards and eliminate barriers to competition;
backbone networks and new infrastructure should be created by the private sector, and the risk and rewards should fall on the owners of shares;
the highway should move through the country in accordance with the requirements of the market;
The development of the information highway should be "technologically neutral" (that is, the state should not support one of the technologies).
Therefore, the role of the state should be considered in the context of the role of the private sector, which invests and carries financial risk.
Its policy should be aimed at creating jobs, stimulating competition, and research and development. Its purpose is to participate in the development of standards, ensure interaction, stimulate competition, accelerate the creation of new technologies and protect consumers.
