In conclusion, we believe that the new broadcasting technologies discussed today--digital television, mobile TV, digital radio, emergency broadcasting, and distributed transmitter networks for regional coverage--have the potential to provide Canadians with an increased number and higher quality of services.
While digital broadcasting systems are being implemented all around the world, not a single country, from a small country like Singapore to a giant country like Russia, has decided that terrestrial broadcasting can be completely abandoned and replaced by satellite or the Internet.
For many years the CRC has been collaborating with the broadcasting industry, and the CBC in particular, to develop and evaluate various technologies. Canadian broadcasters can use these technologies to address some of the following challenges.
First, as we all know, the telecommunication technologies are changing very rapidly, the quality of the pictures and sound available is getting better and better, the number of available programs is multiplying, and new delivery platforms are appearing every day. But that's not enough: viewers are getting used to interactivity and they are now demanding interactivity. Last but not least, it's the consumers' world, and the consumers are deciding where, what, and when they want a particular service to be delivered to them.
Thank you very much.