Changes

   <h2>Canadian Government Use</h2>

   <h2>Canadian Government Use</h2>

   <p>According to Gartner, there is no Government around the world that is operating a true blockchain initiative , although some (State of Georgia, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirate) are operating pseudo-initiatives and starting to experiment with the technology.<ref>Gartner conference call.</ref> Treasury Board of Canada notes highlights a few specific initiatives: Estonia uses an eHealth Foundation partnership to accelerate blockchain-based systems to ensure security, transparency, and auditability of patient healthcare records. Singapore employs the use of blockchain to prevent traders from defrauding banks through a unique distributed ledger-based system focused on preventing invoice fraud.<ref>Treasury Board of Canada</ref></p>

   <p>5G (or 5th Generation) mobile networks are not yet available in Canada or most of the world for that matter. Despite this, the Government of Canada (GC) has been preparing for its arrival. Canada is on par in preparation for 5G compared to other developed countries.</p>

  <h5>Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) & the Management of Mobile Spectrum</h5>

  <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">The demand for digital applications and content continues to rise, both in Canada and around the world, which is the main driving force for the ushering in of 5G technology. Smartphones and other cellular devices, along with tablets, personal computing devices (i.e. Internet of Things, or IoT) and machine-to-machine connectivity, are increasingly pivotal in the daily lives of Canadians and Canadian business. As use of such devices grows, the compound growth rate of mobile data traffic has been calculated at 54% annually. As such, the creation of new or conversion of existing spectrum (or radio frequencies upon which mobile data travels) by national regulators is crucial in order to meet demand to prevent any negative economic consequences.</p>

  <p>All global radio spectrum is allocated by The International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

In Canada, cell phones and radio frequencies are regulated by Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED), which forms part of the ITU. This department also oversees licensing and placement of cell phone towers, conducts environmental impact and land use assessments regarding the installation of cell phone towers or other cell phone infrastructure, and ensures that this equipment meets all regulatory requirements. It is also responsible for the provision and licensing of spectrum to wireless carriers in Canada. In 2015, after consultations with telecommunications carriers and television broadcasters, it was decided that Canada will repurpose the 600 MHz portion of the TV spectrum band for mobile use. The auctioning of this spectrum to mobile carriers was completed in April 2019 and demonstrates the Government of Canada’s (GC) awareness of the constantly increasing importance of mobile technology and the need for greater frequency bands.

  <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content"><i>“New spectrum is critical for the success of fifth-generation (5G) terrestrial

around the world are underway to find harmonization around [the] spectrum to          be  used for 5G. The 5G services are expected to cover a wide range of applications.” 5G Americas

</i></p>

<p>In June 2017, ISED launched consultations regarding the future release of additional spectrum, beyond the current used 648 MHz. ISED wanted to consider the quantities most likely required, as well as the need for possible policy and regulatory considerations, as new business models and network applications emerge. Various stakeholders took part in the consultations and showed support for the GC’s proposal for the release of 28GHz, 37 to 40GHz and 64 to 71GHz frequency bands. The Minister of ISED, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, has said that more conclusive decisions will not take place before the World Radiocommunication Conference in the Fall of 2019 and that consultations around such issues generally take two years. However, some major stakeholders would like to see the speed of this process increased. A representative from Telus has said, “Immediate and decisive regulatory action is required to allow Canada to reap early mover advantages in the new global digital economy.”</p>

<p>As of May 2019, the GC is conducting a cybersecurity review of 5G technology and potential equipment suppliers. Currently, the main suppliers globally include Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Huawei, with the greatest concerns involving the latter company. In 2018, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States all banned the use of Huawei telecom equipment in its 5G networks after concerns that the company had ties to the Chinese government, which could potentially use Huawei to help it perform espionage or to attack vital public infrastructure by the deployment of malicious code. Huawei has vehemently denied these allegations to date. The United Kingdom has ordered a partial ban of Huawei in the core of its 5G network. Other European countries have so far refrained from doing so.</p>

<p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">While it is normally the responsibility of Canadian carriers, like Bell, Rogers, and Telus, to ensure the security of their networks, the GC has an obligation towards public safety, of which cybersecurity is a part. As of May 1, 2019, according to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, the minister responsible for national security and Canada’s National Cyber Security Strategy, the security review over 5G including Huawei’s potential role is ongoing and a final decision is expected by Fall 2019. Regardless of this decision, ongoing efforts will be needed by both carriers as well as the GC in terms of network security, similar to how it is with current 4G LTE.</p>

<p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">On March 19, 2018 the GC announced its investment in the 5G test corridor between Quebec and Ontario. The investment in ENCQOR represents a step in the adoption of the next generation of wireless technology. The GC is partnering with several private industry partners and demonstrates an important example of collaboration among all stakeholders.  5G will demand a huge infrastructure overhaul that must be accounted for.</p>

 

<p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">CWTA has launched the 5G Canada Council to promote supportive collaboration as Canada establishes this new 5G ecosystem. The technology is still set to release by 2020.  The GC will still need to address how it will support radio frequencies between 600 and 3500 MHz, which are required for 5G networks. This range of frequencies is crucial as 600 MHz is one of the highest frequencies still able to reach individuals in more rural and remote regions of the country.</p>

<p>The Canadian Government has announced the investment of up to $40 million to support Nokia’s research on 5G technology in Canada. Nokia has launched multiple projects regarding data routing in optical networks, as well as the development of cybersecurity tools that will protect telecommunication networks as they move toward 5G.</p>

 

   <h2>Implications for Government Agencies</h2>

   <h2>Implications for Government Agencies</h2>

   <h3>Shared Services Canada (SSC)</h3>

   <h3>Shared Services Canada (SSC)</h3>

 

   <h4>Value Proposition</h4>

   <h4>Value Proposition</h4>

   <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">Collaborative technologies like blockchain promise the ability to improve the business processes that occur between organizations and entities, radically lowering the “cost of trust.” As a result, blockchain may offer significantly higher returns for each investment dollar spent than that of traditional internal investments, but in doing so means collaborating with customers, citizens, suppliers and competitors in new ways.<ref>Treasury Board of Canada, Blockchain: Ideal Use Cases for the Government of Canada, 5.</ref></p>

   <p>As mentioned in the Business Brief, 5G offers three main advantages over the current 4G network: greater speed, lower latency, and the ability to connect many more devices at once. In practical terms, this means that 5G networks will be able to provide better access to cloud storage (and edge computing), the ability to run enterprise applications with greater “real-time” response, and the power to run more complex tasks virtually. These advantages couple well with the GC’s ongoing commitment to open-government and greater data sharing and collaboration from any device (including mobile) as elaborated in the [https://www.canada.ca/en/government/system/digital-government/digital-operations-strategic-plan-2018-2022.html#ToC9_2/ Digital Operations Strategic Plan 2018-2022.] </p>

 

   <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">SSC has made considerable shifts in the modernization of the GC data centres, as well as the brokerage of cloud services in terms of data processing and storage. However, as technology evolves, edge computing will provide a complement to these two models. “By 2022, more than 50% of enterprise-generated data will be created and processed outside of the data centre or cloud” according to Gartner research. Edge computing is advancing as a solution to latency issues from one machine to another. 5G will help to improve bandwidth, and therefore latency issues in its own right, thus being able to support a greater density of edge and other devices. 5G will also help enable data to get to their end points (whether cloud or data center) faster for processing and storage.</p>

  <p>Blockchain offers a numbers of benefits to the Government of Canada, such as a reduction in costs and complexity, trusted record keeping and user-centric privacy control. It offers significant opportunities in terms of a single source for public records, support for multiple contributors and a technology ideal for multi-jurisdictional interactions. Due to its decentralized, collaborative nature, it potentially aligns well with policies and practices around Open Government, which aim to make Government services, data, and digital records more accessible to Canadians.</p>

 

  <p>By eliminating the duplication and reducing the need for intermediaries, blockchain technology could be used by SSC to speed-up aspects of service delivery. A challenge for SSC in terms of blockchain will be to identify which enterprise solutions emerge as leaders and how they deal with privacy, confidentiality, auditability, performance and scalability.</p>

 

   <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">Currently, a number of Government agencies are engaged in Blockchain in a number of ways. Maybe SSC could support the following departments in their initiatives to explore how Blockchain can help solve these issues:

      <li><b>Elections Canada</b> – practical applications to support Voter List Management, Secure Identity Management, and management of electoral geography.</li>

      <li><b>Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada</b> – exploring implications for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.</li>

      <li><b>Public Safety Canada</b> – focused on various uses and misuses of virtual currencies, such as extortion or blackmail.</li>

      <li><b>Natural Resources Canada</b> – use as a public registry for the disclosure of payments under the Extractive Sectors Transparency Measures Act.</li>

      <li><b>Bank of Canada</b> – exploring a proof of concept model alongside Payments Canada, Canadian commercial banks and the R3 consortium.</li>

      <li><b>ISED</b> – engagement with Government departments, provincial-territorial-municipal partners, and key industry players.</li>

  </p>

 

   <h4>Challenges</h4>

   <h4>Challenges</h4>

   <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">There are weaknesses in terms of technological complexity, intensive computational and storage demands and a requirement for common software across all nodes. There are significant challenges particularly important within a governmental process. Truly digital assets with a single copy can be destroyed and a government network housing such assets would represent a very public target for malicious actors.<ref>Vallée, J.-C. L. (April 2018). <i>[Vallée, J.-C. L. (April 2018). <i>[https://www.conferenceboard.ca/temp/7dc77c07-7e5a-4be6-ad6d-7d1070f9ac20/9591_Cautious%20Optimism_BR.pdf Adopting Blockchain to Improve Canadian Government Digital Services].</i> Retrieved on 23 May 2019 Adopting Blockchain to Improve Canadian Government Digital Services].</i> Retrieved on 23 May 2019</ref></p>

   <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">There are weaknesses in terms of technological complexity, intensive computational and storage demands and a requirement for common software across all nodes. There are significant challenges particularly important within a governmental process. Truly digital assets with a single copy can be destroyed and a government network housing such assets would represent a very public target for malicious actors.<ref>Vallée, J.-C. L. (April 2018). <i>[Vallée, J.-C. L. (April 2018). <i>[https://www.conferenceboard.ca/temp/7dc77c07-7e5a-4be6-ad6d-7d1070f9ac20/9591_Cautious%20Optimism_BR.pdf Adopting Blockchain to Improve Canadian Government Digital Services].</i> Retrieved on 23 May 2019 Adopting Blockchain to Improve Canadian Government Digital Services].</i> Retrieved on 23 May 2019</ref></p>