Appeared in the Toronto Star on October 22, 2007 as Do-Not-Call List Process a Farce The news over the summer that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission was at long last moving forward with a national do-not-call list generated a sigh of relief from millions of Canadians fed up with […]
Post Tagged with: "crtc"
Broadcasting Policy for a World of Abundance
My regular technology law column (Toronto Star version, Ottawa Citizen version, homepage version) focuses on the recent firestorm sparked by the broadcasting reform report commissioned by the CRTC and written by Laurence Dunbar and Christian Leblanc. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters characterized the report's recommendations as an assault on the foundation of Canadian broadcasting. In this instance, the broadcasters are correct. The report is indeed an assault on the regulatory foundation of Canadian broadcasting – one that is long overdue.
Canadian broadcast regulation was designed for a world of scarcity where broadcast spectrum and consumer choice was limited. This led to a highly regulated environment that used various policy levers to shelter Canadian broadcasters from external competition, limited new entrants, and imposed a long list of content requirements and advertising restrictions. As a result, a dizzying array of regulations kept the entry of new broadcast competitors to a minimum, enshrined genre protection so that Canadians were treated to domestic versions of popular channels such as HBO and ESPN, and firmly supported simultaneous substitution, a policy that allows Canadian broadcasters to simulcast U.S. programming but substitute their own advertising.
Yet today's broadcasting environment is no longer one of scarcity, but rather one of near limitless abundance as satellite, digital channels, and the Internet now provide instant access to an unprecedented array of original content.
Montreal Gazette on Canadian Wireless Services
The Montreal Gazette gives its review of the Ted Rogers vs. Pierre-Karl Péladeau speeches, Bell's new "unlimited" data service, and the missing iPhone.
Canadian Broadcasting Policy For a World of Abundance
Appeared in the Toronto Star on September 24, 2007 as Broadcasters Must Adapt to New Media Reality Soon after taking over as chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Konrad von Finckenstein commissioned Laurence Dunbar and Christian Leblanc, two leading broadcasting lawyers, to conduct a comprehensive review of Canada's […]
System Access Fee Class Action Seeks Billions in Compensation
The Toronto Star reports that a Saskatchewan court has certified a class action against the major telecommunications companies over the widespread use of "system access fees", a deceptive monthly charge added to cell phone bills that appears to be government mandated, but isn't (I touched on it in a column […]
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