GATINEAU – While many Canadians themselves wonder why they need a phone line attached to their home when they already carry their lives around inside the smartphones in their pockets and purses, the CRTC announced internally today that it plans to cut that old phone cord.
An initiative announced to staff this week will see the Regulator begin to move from landlines to mobile phones starting with a pilot project launching next week.
“As you know, the CRTC is committed to providing technology to support our employees to effectively perform their day-to-day work activities. Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in adoption of cellular devices. This is consistent with the trend in private industry and in the consumer marketplace, as more and more people are replacing their traditional landline telephones with cellular devices,” reads the note to staff.
“The adoption of cellular technology provides an opportunity for us to modernize the workplace and, at the same time, achieve significant savings. As public servants, we make every effort to ensure that our services are cost effective and that we are making the best use of taxpayers’ money.
“Transitioning to cellular services will modernize the way we work. In addition to providing us with added mobility, features such as speed dial, access to contact lists or texting are what many of us are already using in our personal lives. By adopting cellular usage at the CRTC, we are demonstrating our commitment to workplace renewal.”
So, a pilot project will start on June 3rd where the Commission’s telecommunications and new decisions group will begin transitioning from landlines to cell phones. It will then be evaluated in the fall and if successful will be rolled out to headquarters and the regions later this fiscal year. Exceptions will be made in some cases where the transition to a cell phone is simply not practical or feasible, such as for employees who use their landline phones for regular conference calls, says the staff circular.
The pilot groups’ phone numbers will remain the same and the most significant change will be the new requirement for CRTC staffers to access an external line when calling colleagues in the telecommunications and decisions groups from a government landline.
Employees will not be required to carry the CRTC-issued cell phone with them after hours and those not wishing to take it home will be asked to lock it before leaving.
“We recognize this is a big change and we are committed to working through this transition gradually and efficiently,” says the note to staff. “This is part of a wider government of Canada initiative being led by Shared Services Canada to modernize telephone services to support a more mobile, connected, and efficient workforce.”
– Greg O’Brien
