The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition BCE is turning to the courts in hopes of overturning an order requiring the company to change the pricing of its mobile television app. The Globe's Christine Dobby writes at issue is whether the app is a form of broadcasting or an Internet service.
On Friday, Bell Mobility filed an application with the Federal Court of Appeal seeking leave to appeal a CRTC decision on Bell's app, which lets customers stream live and on-demand TV programming on their mobile devices. The CRTC ruled last month that the way Bell priced the app gave the company's mobile programming an unlawful preference over other applications or Internet services.
In a speech on the same day the commission released the decision, CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said: "It may be tempting for large, vertically integrated companies to offer certain perks to their customers, and innovation in its purest form is to be applauded. But when the impetus to innovate steps on the toes of the principle of fair and open access to content, we will intervene. We've got to keep the lanes of our bridges unobstructed so that everyone can cross." The CRTC directed Bell to eliminate the pricing practice by April 29.
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