Can a portal operator discriminate and provide a preference to display in-house content instead of material available from other suppliers?
That seems to be a question arising from last week’s new media decision by the CRTC.
During the proceeding, a number of content providers, including Pelmorex (The Weather Channel) argued
that despite new media’s promise of open access, there are gatekeepers in the new media environment with the power to give certain content providers preferred access to their platforms and customer base. During the Proceeding, this issue was most frequently discussed with respect to wireless carriers that offer walled garden mobile entertainment packages.
So the CRTC determined that the imposition of an undue preference provision would be appropriate for mobile portals.
Despite assurances from the wireless industry that walled gardens are being replaced with open Internet access, the Commission notes that closed services are the norm in advance of greater mainstream adoption of more sophisticated devices. As such, the process of selecting content for those services must not subject unaffiliated programming undertakings to undue disadvantage with respect to reaching mobile audiences.
What are the implications for mobile operators?
More points of discussion for The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit, opening Monday in Toronto. Have you registered yet?
Technorati Tags:
new media, Canadian Telecom Summit