Post Tagged with: "crtc"

CRTC’s Fee-For-Carriage/Value-For-Signal Report: Minority Report Steals the Show

The CRTC released its follow-up report to cabinet yesterday on the consumer impact of new fees associated with fee-for-carriage/value-for-signal (as a side note, the Commission's approach on releases – the financial reports on broadcasters and BDUs last week, the broadcast policy on Monday, and the consumer impact the following day – feels far too manipulative and staged. There was no good reason not to release the broadcast policy and its consumer impact simultaneously).

The Commission conclusion amounts to an acknowledgement that prices will go up, but it believes that Canadians will continue to pay based on past experience of steady price increases imposed by cable and satellite companies. It states:

March 24, 2010 — 21 comments — News

Broadcasting Policy Without The Net

The CRTC's release of its much-anticipated broadcasting regulatory policy decision set off a flurry of comments yesterday with broadcasters welcoming the prospect of negotiating fees for their local signals, broadcast distributors warning of increased costs, and the CBC arguing that the decision was a "dark day" for public broadcasters after it was excluded from the negotiating process. While there is understandably considerable discussion in the decision on programming requirements, the media focus centered on the fee-for-carriage issue. On that front, the CRTC has opened the door to negotiations, subject to a court ruling confirming the Commission's jurisdiction to implement such an approach.

It seems appropriate that on the day the CRTC released its decision, a new study was published that found Canadians now spend more time online than watching television. While the world is increasingly moving online, the CRTC decision acts as if the Internet scarcely exists. The broadcasting policy decision mentions the Internet once (acknowledging that it is a platform for content distribution) and does not including any reference to streaming, Youtube, podcast, BitTorrent, or peer-to-peer (used by the CBC to distribute its content). The word "consumer" is mentioned five times, though the consumer perspective will be addressed in a second report due later today to Cabinet.

March 23, 2010 — 21 comments — News

CRTC Launches Consultation on New Media Reporting Requirements

The CRTC has launched a new consultation on the reporting requirements for new media broadcast undertakings.

February 19, 2010 — 1 comment — News

Canadian ISPs Fall Short In Meeting Net Neutrality Requirements

Last fall, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission issued its much-anticipated Internet traffic management ruling, better known as the net neutrality decision. The case attracted national interest as the CRTC established several key requirements for Canada’s Internet providers.

These included new transparency obligations that forced ISPs to disclose their network management practices, such as why the practices were introduced, who will be affected, when it will occur, and how it will impact users' Internet experiences (down to the specific impact on speeds). The CRTC also opened the door to complaints about network management practices by establishing a test that any harm to users be as little as reasonably possible.

Several months later, Canada's ISPs have had ample time to comply with the new requirements, yet my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, Ottawa Citizen version, homepage version) reviews the policies from the biggest ISPs – including Bell Canada, Rogers Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc., Telus, Cogeco Inc., and Groupe Vidéotron – and reveals a decidedly mixed bag.

February 16, 2010 — 13 comments — Columns