Post Tagged with: "crtc"

CRTC New Media Decision: Hands Off The Internet. . . For Now

The CRTC has released its 2009 new media decision (full decision here) and it looks not unlike the 1999 new media decision. Days of hearings, thousands of pages of submissions and the Commission has side-stepped the pressure to "do something," by maintaining its hands-off approach. It concluded that regulatory intervention would get in the way of innovation and that a compelling case was not made that additional support through an ISP levy was needed. Indeed, the decision notes that "the Commission is of the view that parties advocating repeal of the exemption orders did not establish that licensing undertakings in the new media environment would contribute in a material manner to the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in the Act."

There is at least one very noteworthy change to the new media exemption, however. The CRTC was clearly troubled by allegations of undue preferences being granted by wireless providers (the issue raised by the Weather Network and discussed in this March column). It has therefore proposed amendments prohibiting such practices:

June 4, 2009 — 16 comments — News

CRTC Chair Says Broadcast and Telco Acts Need Overhaul

CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein told an audience last week that the Telecommunications Act and Broadcasting Act require an overhaul with a single communications law the better approach.

June 2, 2009 — 1 comment — News

CAIP Calls on CRTC To Reverse Bell Throttling Decision

The Canadian Association of Internet Providers has filed an application with the CRTC that calls on the Commission to rescind its November 2008 Bell throttling decision. The application alleges multiple errors of fact and law in the decision and points specifically to the CRTC's lack of a full understanding of the issues raised in the proceeding. CAIP argues that the CRTC specifically launched the larger net neutrality proceeding this summer in order to gain that fuller understanding, but argues that:

A broader proceeding in order to understand the complex issues raised in the CAIP application is a perfectly acceptable and responsible means of developing a thoughtful policy approach and decision on network management. What is entirely unfair and unacceptable, however, is the fact that the Commission rendered Decision 2008-108 without the benefit of a comprehensive understanding of the factual, legal and policy issues at play. In particular, if the Commission did not believe that it had an adequate evidentiary record or did not have a full understanding of the factual and legal issues raised by Bell's throttling of wholesale GAS services to be able to determine in an unqualified and final manner the issues raised in the CAIP proceeding, then it was procedurally unfair for the Commission to have rendered a decision on CAIP's application.

Moreover, CAIP highlights a concern raised by many in the net neutrality world – that the CRTC has already decided many of the bigger issues even before the July hearings begin. CAIP notes that:

May 21, 2009 — 7 comments — News

You Can’t Handle The Truth

Jim Henshaw has a great post on the CRTC licence renewal hearings, the use of in camera hearings to keep much of the discussion out of the public domain, and the questionable claims about local broadcast viability with a new fee-for-carriage plan [hat tip: Writers Guild of Canada] .

May 20, 2009 — Comments are Disabled — News

“Cataclysmic Risk”

This is how CTV's Ivan Fecan described the prospect that the CRTC require Canadian broadcasters to spend an equal amount on Canadian programming as they do on foreign (U.S.) shows. CRTC data shows that expenditures by conventional private-sector TV on Canadian content declined in 2007 to $616 million, whereas spending […]

May 15, 2009 — 3 comments — News