Volume IV

Issue : 8: April 20, 2006

• Court Refuses to Exercise Jurisdiction Based on Website
• Swedish Appellate Court Refuses to Hear Case of Individual File Sharing
• Inadequate Protection of Customers Personal Information by U.K. Businesses
• New Canadian Policy Addresses Trans border Data Flows
• Michigan Law Restricting Violent Video Game Sales Overturned
• CRTC Declines to Regulate Mobile TV
• Court Authorizes Internal Revenue Service To Seek Customer Information from PayPal Inc.

Home > Volume IV > Issue 8: April 20, 2006 > CRTC Declines to Regulate Mobile TV

CRTC Declines to Regulate Mobile TV

On April 12, 2006 the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (“CRTC”) issued a public notice that television content that is broadcast through cellular networks is exempt from the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations which regulate television broadcasting in Canada.

Broadcasts “delivered and accessed over the Internet” are exempt from the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations under the Exemption Order for New Media Broadcasting Undertakings. Wireless phone companies proposing to broadcast television content to cellular phones argued that they fall under this exemption. They also submitted that their proposed services would not compete with traditional broadcasting services because of the small screens involved, the low audio and video quality, battery life limitations and the narrow range of programming that would be available.

Those opposed to the regulatory exemption of this service argued that users of this service are not connected to the Internet, and that providers would be using their own distinct wireless networks to deliver the service to subscribers. Some groups also raised concerns about the fact that Canadian content regulations would not apply to this type of broadcast.

The CRTC concluded that the television signals in question are sent by the content provider via the public Internet to the Internet gateway of the mobile carrier in question. From there, they are routed to the appropriate tower and transmitted wirelessly for the “last mile” to the user’s handset. To access the signals, the user must connect to the Internet using a web browser. On this basis, the CRTC decided that the broadcasts are exempt. The CRTC also concluded that a new exemption order should be established that will pertain to mobile television broadcasting undertakings more generally, as mobile television broadcasting services are unlikely to become substitutes for conventional broadcasting services or to interfere with the abilities of conventional broadcasters to meet their obligations under the Act.

For a copy of the notice, visit:

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2006/pb2006-47.htm