[9971] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
CANARIE doing good things
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bill St. Arnaud)
Mon Jan 31 16:14:58 1994
From: bstarn@ccs.carleton.ca (Bill St. Arnaud)
To: com-priv@psi.com
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 16:12:38 EST
>From bstarn Mon Jan 31 16:06:42 1994
Subject: Re: CANARIE doing good work
To: smd@cesium.clock.org (Sean Doran)
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 16:06:42 EST
Cc: comiv@psi.com
In-Reply-To: <94Jan31.100710pst.5749@cesium.clock.org>; from "Sean Doran" at Jan 31, 94 10:07 am
X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11]
Sean Doran writes:
>
> With all due respect to Bill St. Arnaud, whose organizational skills I
> admire, CANARIE is simply a waste of tax and private money.
Thanks for the kind comment, but with all due respect I do believe
that CANANRIE is doing some very useful work.
First all, I want to make clear that my background was running a small
company that developed network software and interfaces for networks
service providers in the United States and Hong Komg, including
Malone's TCI. I can therefore empathise with your attitude towards
large government programs and committees like CANARIE that are tasked
with developing the information highway in Canada. There is no
question that organizations like this will be more bureaucratic and
politically driven than any private organization, particularly small
business enterprises. But I honestly believe, even from my small
business perspective, that CANARIE is doing some very useful work.
1. CANARIE has definitely raised the awareness level within the Federal
Government of the importance of networking and the Internet in
particular. This has been no easy task, as there are still large
segments within the government that think Internet is, at best a toy, or at
worst, and agent of the US military.
2. CANARIE is promoting Canadian information services and
applications. To my mind, this will be its most important legacy. The
Internet is dominated by American information sources and applications.
And just like we have seen in the TV world, we are being inundated
with American content on the Internet. To give Canadian information
service providers, a hope in hell, in raising their voice above the din
from south of the border, we need a public/private partnership to
promote and assist Canadian companies to get their wares on the Internet.
Canada does not have the TCI's, the Paramounts, and other such
edutainment or infotainement giants. That is why, in Canada, industry
and government must work together to our make voices heard in the
global village. Otherwise, companies like UUnet, fonorola and others
will simply become "purveyors of pipes" to the US border whose sole existence
will be to pull in American infromation and entertainment,
which will only futher denigrate our image of "hewers of wood, and
haulers of water" as we enter into the information age.
3. I would think that CANARIE's activities will only benefit companies
like UUnet. It it companies like yours that will inherit the
benefits of the promotion of the Internet and Canadian information
services. There is no way you could pay in advertising in terms of
the awareness raising that CANARIE generates through its activities.
I am confident that the internetworking issue between CA*NEt and the
commercial internet providers will be resolved to everybody's
satisfaction and both parties will continues to play an equal and
important role, in the development of networking in Canada.
Cheers
Bill
--
Bill St. Arnaud Internet: bstarn@ccs.carleton.ca
VISION 2000 INC.
203-294 Albert St.
Ottawa CANADA Voice: +1 613 567-2000
K1P 6E6 Fax: +1 613 567-4730
======================================================================
VISION 2000 INC: An Industry Canada and industry initiative to foster
and accelerate the development of personal communications in Canada.
======================================================================
--
Bill St. Arnaud Internet: bstarn@ccs.carleton.ca
VISION 2000 INC.
203-294 Albert St.
Ottawa CANADA Voice: +1 613 567-2000
K1P 6E6 Fax: +1 613 567-4730
======================================================================
VISION 2000 INC: An Industry Canada and industry initiative to foster
and accelerate the development of personal communications in Canada.
======================================================================
