Frequent readers of this blog will know that I an no fan of the CRTC. But today, I will actually say that they’ve done something right. In the last couple of hours, they’ve come out with a ruling that Bell and Videotron cannot exempt their own apps from data charges:
The Commission finds that Bell Mobility Inc. (Bell Mobility) and Quebecor Media Inc., Videotron Ltd. and Videotron G.P. (collectively, Videotron), violated subsection 27(2) of the Telecommunications Act by exempting their mobile TV services Bell Mobile TV and illico.tv from data charges. Subsection 27(2) prohibits Canadian carriers from conferring an undue disadvantage to others, or an undue preference to itself or others. Bell Mobility and Videotron have given an undue preference in favour of subscribers of their respective mobile TV services, as well as in favour of their own services, and have subjected consumers of other audiovisual content services, and other services, to a corresponding undue disadvantage.
In light of the above, the Commission directs Bell Mobility to eliminate its unlawful practice with respect to data charges for its mobile TV service by no later than 29 April 2015.
Further, the Commission directs Videotron to confirm by 31 March 2015 that it completed its planned withdrawal of its illico.tv app for Blackberry- and Android-based phones by 31 December 2014, thereby removing any undue preference for its mobile TV service, and ensure that any new mobile TV service complies with the determinations set out in this decision.
This decision will favour an open and non-discriminatory marketplace for mobile TV services, enabling innovation and choice for Canadians. The Commission is very supportive of the development of new means by which Canadians can access both Canadian-made and foreign audiovisual content. However, mobile service providers cannot do so in a manner contrary to the Telecommunications Act.
Wow. The CRTC stands up for net neutrality. Imagine that. I’m pretty sure that this decision is going to get a lot of attention from advocates of net neutrality as well as other teclos who might have been thinking about doing the same thing, or are doing the same thing. I’ll be interested in seeing if the CRTC will do the same thing to others who engage in similar behaviors. If they do, I’ll may even start to say I like the CRTC.
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This entry was posted on January 29, 2015 at 1:08 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Bell, CRTC, Net Neutrality, Videotron. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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CRTC Actually Does Something Right By Slapping Bell & Videotron Over Their “Unlawful” Practices
Frequent readers of this blog will know that I an no fan of the CRTC. But today, I will actually say that they’ve done something right. In the last couple of hours, they’ve come out with a ruling that Bell and Videotron cannot exempt their own apps from data charges:
The Commission finds that Bell Mobility Inc. (Bell Mobility) and Quebecor Media Inc., Videotron Ltd. and Videotron G.P. (collectively, Videotron), violated subsection 27(2) of the Telecommunications Act by exempting their mobile TV services Bell Mobile TV and illico.tv from data charges. Subsection 27(2) prohibits Canadian carriers from conferring an undue disadvantage to others, or an undue preference to itself or others. Bell Mobility and Videotron have given an undue preference in favour of subscribers of their respective mobile TV services, as well as in favour of their own services, and have subjected consumers of other audiovisual content services, and other services, to a corresponding undue disadvantage.
In light of the above, the Commission directs Bell Mobility to eliminate its unlawful practice with respect to data charges for its mobile TV service by no later than 29 April 2015.
Further, the Commission directs Videotron to confirm by 31 March 2015 that it completed its planned withdrawal of its illico.tv app for Blackberry- and Android-based phones by 31 December 2014, thereby removing any undue preference for its mobile TV service, and ensure that any new mobile TV service complies with the determinations set out in this decision.
This decision will favour an open and non-discriminatory marketplace for mobile TV services, enabling innovation and choice for Canadians. The Commission is very supportive of the development of new means by which Canadians can access both Canadian-made and foreign audiovisual content. However, mobile service providers cannot do so in a manner contrary to the Telecommunications Act.
Wow. The CRTC stands up for net neutrality. Imagine that. I’m pretty sure that this decision is going to get a lot of attention from advocates of net neutrality as well as other teclos who might have been thinking about doing the same thing, or are doing the same thing. I’ll be interested in seeing if the CRTC will do the same thing to others who engage in similar behaviors. If they do, I’ll may even start to say I like the CRTC.
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This entry was posted on January 29, 2015 at 1:08 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Bell, CRTC, Net Neutrality, Videotron. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.