Broadcasters may charge cablecos for carriage

Canadian broadcasters will be able to charge cablecos for carrying their traffic following a court decision yesterday, according to media reports.
The Globe and Mail reported today that Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) ruled that the telecoms…

Canadian broadcasters will be able to charge cablecos for carrying their traffic following a court decision yesterday, according to media reports.

The Globe and Mail reported today that Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) ruled that the telecoms regulator had the right to authorise broadcasters to charge cablecos for carrying their channels.

The regulator, the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) had originally made a decision a year ago authorising broadcasters to levy such charges. But the CRTC referred the decision to the FCA, citing legal issues involved in the decision that fell outside its remit.

Meanwhile, Canada’s usage-based billing (UBB) controversy continues.

UBB is the principle that internet users should be charged according to their usage.

A CRTC ruling in January allowed larger internet providers to charge wholesale ISPs usage-based rates, as long as they gave the wholesaler a 15% discount.

The assumption was that this would force wholesalers to pass on UBB costs to consumers. This in turn led to a public outcry.

The Canadian industry minister Tony Clement reportedly said last week that if the CRTC comes back with a decision that, as before, allows UBB, then the cabinet will reverse it as it was not consistent with the government’s policy on competition and choice.