The Fear of a Bigger SaskTel

The Fear of a Bigger SaskTel

Nipawin - September 3, 2000 - By: Mario deSantis

regressive economic development
Timothy Shire has recently voiced out his outrage to the ongoing SaskTel's policy of

rationing needed Internet services in rural Saskatchewan. Here we have a government

which says it is committed to diversify the economy of rural Saskatchewan, and yet it

makes sure to reinforce a regressive economic development by trading education and

technology with hogs and hamburger patties.

cable
licence
SaskTel has just applied to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications

Commission (CRTC) for a cable licence to provide Video and other technological

services to the privileged urban areas of the province. The Saskatchewan Party has

joined Communication Access, a cable company operating in Regina, in charging

SaskTel of interfering with the private sector of the communication business. And

therefore, there have been philosophical differences about the future role of SaskTel

and concerns have been raised about its monopolistic position.

customer oriented and customer
driven
Journalist Murray Mandryk has been defending the new expanding role of SaskTel

and has emphasized its technological know-how along the need for SaskTel to be

profitable. I don't buy at all this biased positioning on behalf of SaskTel. What is

important today is to have learning companies which provide innovative and effective

services to customers, companies which are customer oriented and customer driven.

overcharges
its customers
SaskTel is not a learning organization since it follows a discriminatory policy against

rural Saskatchewan; SaskTel is not specifically innovative since it buys its know-how,

as everybody else, in the global market; SaskTel is not effective since it deliberately

overcharges its customers; SaskTel is not customer oriented since it has the monopoly

of its customers; Sasktel is not customer driven since it doesn't listen to its customers.

monopolistic SaskTel
Cisco Systems Inc. has just acquired a new technology which will allow telephony

companies to broadcast quality video over regular phone lines. As a consequence,

the monopolistic SaskTel is well positioned in taking over this new business at the

expense of wireless and cable companies and my only fear is that the mismanagement

of this company will further alienate its customers. In the meantime, let us hope that

alternative technological solutions can be made available as soon as possible in rural

as well as urban Saskatchewan.

-----------References:

General reference: articles by Mario deSantis http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/authors/desantisNG.html

Saskatchewan Outports, by Timothy Shire, August 29, 200

Running the Business at SaskTel, by Mario deSantis, August 29, 2000

The case for SaskTel's cable venture, by Murray Mandryk, September 1, 2000, The Leader-Post, Regina, Saskatchewan

Cisco buys tech firm PixStream for $369M, by Simon Avery, Financial Post, September 1, 2000 http://www.nationalpost.com/tech/story.html?f=/stories/20000901/385566.html

Editor's Note: SaskTel has purchased a major portion of the Alberta based cable television company presently providing cable services to rural Saskatchewan.

*The Fear of a Bigger SaskTel*

Nipawin - September 3, 2000 - By: Mario deSantis

regressive economic development	Timothy Shire has recently voiced out his outrage to the ongoing SaskTel's policy of
	rationing needed Internet services in rural Saskatchewan. Here we have a government
	which says it is committed to diversify the economy of rural Saskatchewan, and yet it
	makes sure to reinforce a regressive economic development by trading education and
	technology with hogs and hamburger patties.

cable licence	SaskTel has just applied to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
	Commission (CRTC) for a cable licence to provide Video and other technological
	services to the privileged urban areas of the province. The Saskatchewan Party has
	joined Communication Access, a cable company operating in Regina, in charging
	SaskTel of interfering with the private sector of the communication business. And
	therefore, there have been philosophical differences about the future role of SaskTel
	and concerns have been raised about its monopolistic position.

customer oriented and customer driven	Journalist Murray Mandryk has been defending the new expanding role of SaskTel
	and has emphasized its technological know-how along the need for SaskTel to be
	profitable. I don't buy at all this biased positioning on behalf of SaskTel. What is
	important today is to have learning companies which provide innovative and effective
	services to customers, companies which are customer oriented and customer driven.

overcharges its customers	SaskTel is not a learning organization since it follows a discriminatory policy against
	rural Saskatchewan; SaskTel is not specifically innovative since it buys its know-how,
	as everybody else, in the global market; SaskTel is not effective since it deliberately
	overcharges its customers; SaskTel is not customer oriented since it has the monopoly
	of its customers; Sasktel is not customer driven since it doesn't listen to its customers.

monopolistic SaskTel	Cisco Systems Inc. has just acquired a new technology which will allow telephony
	companies to broadcast quality video over regular phone lines. As a consequence,
	the monopolistic SaskTel is well positioned in taking over this new business at the
	expense of wireless and cable companies and my only fear is that the mismanagement
	of this company will further alienate its customers. In the meantime, let us hope that
	alternative technological solutions can be made available as soon as possible in rural
	as well as urban Saskatchewan.

-----------References:

	General reference: articles by Mario deSantis http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/authors/desantisNG.html

	Saskatchewan Outports, by Timothy Shire, August 29, 200

	Running the Business at SaskTel, by Mario deSantis, August 29, 2000

	The case for SaskTel's cable venture, by Murray Mandryk, September 1, 2000, The Leader-Post, Regina, Saskatchewan

	Cisco buys tech firm PixStream for $369M, by Simon Avery, Financial Post, September 1, 2000 http://www.nationalpost.com/tech/story.html?f=/stories/20000901/385566.html

Editor's Note: SaskTel has purchased a major portion of the Alberta based cable television company presently providing cable services to rural Saskatchewan.