BCE has lost a legal bid to keep pricing for its mobile TV service in place while it appeals a Jan. 29, 2015 CRTC decision in the Federal Court of Appeal.
That CRTC ruling barred Bell Mobility from exempting its mobile TV service from a mobile subscribers’ monthly data cap.
Justice J.A. Pelletier of the Federal Court of Appeal in a March 23 decision said that “Bell has not established that it will suffer irreparable harm” if the mobile TV service is banned until the case is heard.
The court decision said rival internet providers like Telus, Videotron and Rogers Communications had already pulled their own mobile TV apps based on time-based fees.
“Bell would simply be in the same position as they are,” the appeals court stated.
The CRTC in January cited the Telecom Act to conclude mobile TV service providers cannot give their own product “an unfair advantage in the marketplace.”
BCE’s mobile TV app enables subscribers to view up to 10 hours of streamed content for $5 a month outside of monthly data caps that apply to third-party product like Netflix and YouTube content.
The CRTC ordered Bell Mobility and Videotron to scrap their “unlawful practice” by April 29, 2015 at the latest.
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From Playback Daily
