Mobile wireless in Canada: policy, problems, and progress

Abstract

The topic of this thesis is the institutional ecology surrounding mobile wireless telecommunication services in Canada. The primary focus is the disconnect between policy pronouncements promoting universal adoption of mobile services, on the one hand, and the fact that mobile adoption remains stubbornly low in both absolute terms and by international comparison. Key concepts in the theory of communication regulation and the historical development of telecommunication policy are laid out, which are used to inform an examination of the development of national mobile communication policy since the 1980s. The thesis then presents two case studies. The first is focused on recent developments in federal mobile policy, directed toward taking greater steps to ensure broad adoption of mobile services. The second examines the changing role of mobile services, from instruments of interpersonal communication to a broader form of information media, and the challenges that this shift has created for policymakers.