Telus Mobility says its proposed mobile TV service complements broadcasting system

Rogers Wireless, Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility filed letters in response to CRTC questioning, sparked by concerns voiced by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), over whether proposed mobile TV services should qualify under the New Media Exemption Order (CNM, June 10/05). The CRTC’s questioning of the wireless carriers and their responses were put on the public record on August 11, when the commission issued a call for comments on a regulatory framework for mobile broadcasting services (Broadcasting Public Notice 2005-82). Below is an excerpt from Telus’ letter to the CRTC. Telus Mobility intends to provide its customers (with) the ability to view...multimedia content via the mobile handset. This service will be enabled via an IP-based client-service implementation that delivers a data stream to capable handsets from an Internet server. Due to lower...network speeds and...limited processing power available to mobile devices, multimedia content must be specifically converted/created to be compatible with and viewable on mobile handsets. Nevertheless, it is not anticipated that the service will deliver the same quality of content and range of features that would be available on a PC-based solution. The video display will be limited to the screen size of the mobile handset and the images will be refreshed at a rate of one to five frames per second versus the minimum 24 frames per second rate delivered by more traditional technology. Ultimately, the CRTC defined new media broadcasting undertakings in the New Media Exemption Order to mean undertakings which provide broadcasting services delivered and accessed over the Internet. Telus’ proposed new mobile service will fall within the commission’s definitions of new media and, in particular, will be covered by the New Media Exemption Order. The service will provide content accessible from and delivered via the Internet to anyone with a compatible phone and a subscription to Telus Mobility’s appropriate data service plan. Telus submits that, in order to be covered by the New Media Exemption Order, it is not necessary for the specific users of a mobile new media service to have access through their mobile phones to all the content available on the Internet. Rather, the reverse is true: specific content has to be available to all users of the Internet, although, as in this case, availability can be limited to paying customers (i.e. a subscription service) and to those who have purchased special receiving equipment. The commission concluded in the New Media Report that to impose licensing and regulation on new media undertakings would not contribute in any way to the development of new media services or to the benefits that they bring to Canadian users, consumers and businesses. In particular, given the screen size, the low image resolution and audio quality, and the memory and battery life limitations of mobile handsets, these nascent mobile new media services will not compete with conventional broadcasting services and thus will not have an undue impact on the ability of licensed undertakings to fulfill their regulatory requirements. In fact, these services will complement conventional broadcasting services and may enhance their ability to fulfill their regulatory requirements.

Telus Mobility says its proposed mobile TV service complements broadcasting system

News | 08/18/2005 4:00 am EDT

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