Telus slams OTA consent clause in mobile TV order

A new exemption order aimed at distinguishing between wireless telco-based mobile video services and yet-to-launch mobile TV services has some wireless network operators upset over its unique take on the broadcast retransmission regime, while others are indifferent. "There’s a fundamental difference between the rights that broadcasters have and the ones that specialty and pay services have," says Jay Thomson, assistant VP of broadband policy at Telus Corp. "Specialty services clear the rights in all the programming and contract with BDUs for distribution, and that’s a totally different regime than an off-air signal that is freely available to antennae and a copyright regime exists."The story started last April when the CRTC released Public Notice 2006-47, which determined that the mobile video services of Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility and Rogers Wireless were accessed and delivered via the Internet and thus operated under the 1999 New Media Exemption Order. Look Communications Inc.’s multipoint distribution service was also exempted, but for different reasons. Recognizing that future generations of mobile video services might not use the Internet as a conduit, however, the commission also set in motion a process to craft a new exemption order for those services. The end result, released on February 7, was Public Notice 2007-13.One of the conditions in PN 2007-13 was that mobile network operators must secure broadcaster consent before retransmitting any programming, something that section 31 of the Copyright Act exempts retransmitters from having to do in the case of over-the-air signals. Telus and the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association told the commission that the new requirement amounts to the CRTC making copyright policy on its own, something it has no authority to do. However, since section 31 makes the distinction between a "new media retransmitter" and a "retransmitter" before going on to apparently place conditions on only the latter, it’s debatable whether the section would apply to new media undertakings anyway.Any way you look at it, Thomson sees the stipulation as an imposition on Telus’ ability to offer any signal consumers desire. But execs at other wireless carriers say their current offerings are wholly based on specialty programming, and over-the-air signals don’t figure into their plans at present."It’s not that big a deal to me that we won’t be offering over-the-air services, or we’ll be offering more specialty services. Or, if we do want to offer an over-the-air service, we have to get their consent," Rogers Communications Inc.’s VP of regulatory Ken Engelhart says.In an interview with CCR sister publication Canadian New Media, Engelhart revealed that Rogers has spent some time thinking about wireless mobile television beyond its current cellular-based Rogers Mobile TV service. "I always assumed that when we offered things like DVB-H we would need to go back and get a broadcasting licence," he says. "I’m assuming that we’ll offer the stuff one day. We don’t have a technology or a business plan or a product or anything yet, but we’re looking at all the options."Regardless of the controversy, the commission’s move to create an exemption order that covers non-Internet-based mobile broadcasting is especially timely. Earlier this month, Industry Canada announced a licensing process for spectrum in the 1670-1675 MHz band, the same band that DVB-H services in the US operate. Harmonization of both countries’ spectrum rules will be a boon to the industry in Canada, providing economies of scale for devices and network equipment.The department has set May 25 for the submission of first-round comments. With Rogers’ apparent plans to eventually make the move to DVB-H, it will be interesting to see if Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility follow suit.

Telus slams OTA consent clause in mobile TV order

News | 03/01/2006 5:00 am EST

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