Bell mobile-TV appeal dismissed

The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the CRTC’s ban on BCE Inc.’s zero-rated mobile-TV plans, a year and a half after the commission ruled the company couldn’t exempt the service from data caps. In a decision issued Monday, the court dismissed Bell’s attempt to have the ban overturned. The 2015 CRTC decision stated that both mobile-TV offerings from both Bell and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron could not be exempted from data charges. Bell launched a court appeal of that decision in February 2015. In the reasons for decision, Judge Wyman Webb agreed that based on the purpose of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Acts, “Bell Mobility was not acting as a ‘broadcasting undertaking’ in transmitting its mobile TV services as part of its entire bundle of voice, data and programs that it was transmitting.” Since it wasn’t “engaging the policy objectives” of the Broadcasting Act when transmitting over the mobile-TV service, the court had to rule that the CRTC’s initial decision was reasonable, Webb wrote. In a concurring opinion, Judge Eleanor Dawson added that “a company cannot avoid regulation under the Telecommunications Act by choosing a particular corporate structure. Bell Mobility chose to offer its mobile TV service though the same corporation that provides its wireless telecommunications services,” and that can’t “determine the CRTC’s jurisdiction over Bell Mobility’s telecommunications and broadcasting activities.” In the dismissal of the appeal, the judges also awarded costs to the respondents, Ben Klass (who brought the initial complaint to the CRTC), David Ellis, Fenwick McKelvey and the Canadian Network Operators Consortium. Klass said in an email Monday evening that “the court got it right — they recognized the distinction between content and carriage, and the different but related policy objectives that go along with each.” He added: “The decision should contribute to preserving the open and fair Internet in Canada.” The mobile-TV issue was the first prominent case regarding the practice of zero-rating in Canada. It was followed by a similar complaint against Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron’s Unlimited Music service. CRTC recently launched a review on zero-rated and sponsored data, with a public hearing set to take place on Oct. 31, stating that such practises are becoming more common in both Canada and other countries. — With reporting by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca and reporting and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Bell mobile-TV appeal dismissed

Broadcast | June 20, 2016

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Bell mobile-TV appeal dismissed

Broadcast | June 20, 2016

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