Reports

In 2016 I was engaged by the Internet Society, headquartered in Washington DC, to conduct a study of the multi-stakeholder (MSH) process. What is it? Is it defined or definable? I found that it was a real thing with definable, though fuzzy characteristics, and that it had several important benefits to policy making when consensus about the nature of the topic, let alone the nature of the solutions, was unclear. My thanks to the interviewees who gave their time, and to Bill Graham in particular, who provided many useful comments. The Report in the form in which it was originally submitted is here.

 

October 2013 As Inquiry Officer under the Telecommunications Act, I inquired into the state of 9-1-1 services within Canada. It involved over 125 interviews as well as reading numerous submissions. The Inquiry Report can be found here.

“The debate about radio spectrum policy: two conceptions of the public welfare” written in August 2008 and accepted as my Master’s Thesis in the University of Ottawa’s Law and Technology Program.

This paper examines the debate between commons-type approaches and markets in spectrum and concludes we need to run large scale trials before we can adopt one or the other plan.

“As to the larger question that underlies the paper, the issue remains how to conceive what spectrum control really is: a vast system for the control of speech which incidentally engages in the use of spectrum. The conditions under which we receive and produce information are the primary conditions of citizen participation in a networked information economy. Spectrum policy should be seen as part of government’s limitations on free speech. In this area, they are comprehensive. They should not last a minute beyond what is absolutely necessary. Changed technological conditions strongly indicate they need to be reviewed. On this, both communitarians and propertarians speak with one voice.”

The Significance of Next Generation Networks” written in April 2007 for my Master’s in Law and Technology Program at the University of Ottawa.

Next Generation Networks are supposed to combine the features of the Internet with the cash-generating features of the PSTN. Is it possible entire industries can be in the grips of a technical fantasy?

The Changing Role of Telephone Numbers: Do They Provide Incumbent Advantages?” first written in September 2006 for my communications law course, Masters in Law program, University of Ottawa.

This report looks at how telephone numbers are managed, how ENUM may affect those arrangements, and whether telephone companies derive competitive advantages from the existing system of numbering administration.

A Policy, Technical and Economic Study of Spam” by Timothy Denton, produced for Industry Canada

This June 2003 report looks at how spam is variously defined, what it appears to be costing society and some industries, and looks at what can be done and has been done to protect those interests without recourse to new legislation. In the light of the available data I make some observations about what sorts of legislative action are not likely to be effective. I then consider whether and how the Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act (PIPEDA) may be used against spammers and conclude, reluctantly, that spammers are unlikely to make themselves available to the kind of processes envisaged by the Act.

Federal Corporate Name-Granting in the Age of the Internet” by Timothy Denton, Dufour and François Ménard

In April 2002 we reviewed the policies of the federal government regarding corporate name granting. Should Internet resource identifiers influence the rules for naming companies in meatspace?

International Charging Arrangements for Internet Services

A consulting effort of Timothy Denton, Jim Savage and Rob Frieden for the APEC Telecommunications Committee. Asian and Australian telecom carriers are annoyed at having to provision lines all the way to continental United States in order to connect to the Internet. It is not like the old days of telephony. What’s fair? What is going to happen?

Module 1 (September 1999). The complete version of Module 1 is available here in PDF:

Module 2 (January 2000) fact gathering module. The report was presented originally as a MS PowerPoint deck. It is also available in PDF format.

Module 3 (March 2000) conclusions: A PowerPoint Deck and the final report are available here.

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