The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition the CRTC is asking a series of tough new questions about the way three cellphone providers charge for live and on-demand television programming on mobile applications.
The Globe's Christine Dobby writes for a fee of $5 a month, viewers can use their smart phone to watch up to 10 hours per month of content from a selection of Canadian TV stations with no impact on their wireless data caps. On the other hand, if they use Netflix to stream 10 hours of many of the same shows, they run the risk of incurring significant charges.
"The main point here is: How can you favour some data over another?" said Gregory Taylor, a researcher at Ryerson University in Toronto.
The CRTC is reviewing mobile TV apps offered by BCE, Rogers Communications and Quebecor's wireless division Videotron. The commission wants more detail on items such as how many subscribers the services have, how much data they tend to use and how the content is delivered.
It is expecting answers Thursday. "The CRTC doesn't seem to be going lightly on it at all," Mr. Taylor said, noting that the application touches on a number of complicated issues and, "opens the door to some big-picture questions."
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