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

In a filing to the Federal Communications Commission released late on Monday, AT&T; set a target for 100 percent broadband availability in the United States by 2014.

Included in the plan are some points that caught my eye, including a recognition that work needs to be done on the demand side.

of those that do have access, nearly half of them do not purchase it for a range of reasons, including lack of necessary Internet-enabled devices, affordability issues and relevancy. While setting a goal of achieving universal access should be part of a comprehensive national broadband strategy, an inclusive approach must emphasize the critical importance of increasing broadband adoption.

To address the demand side, the plan includes a call for providing training and public access to broadband services; economic assistance for the acquisition of broadband services and equipment; and incentives for the development of technology and content aimed at specific users’ needs.

More details are expected to be released on AT&T;’s Public Policy website.

Building Broadband, is the topic of a special panel at next week’s The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit.

Have you registered yet?

Technorati Tags:
AT&T;, broadband

Last Thursday, the Globe and Mail carried a review of the new Palm Pre that was launched by Sprint in the US over the weekend.

The review, gushing at times, rated the Pre above the iPhone and the author was especially impressed by the new Palm operating system.

The author said that the ease of use and coolness inherent in iPhone’s two years of smart phone supremacy is being challenged.

With webOS, Palm’s new operating system, you can keep multiple applications open at once. They’re organized like a row of cards that stretches off the screen, and you flick the screen to switch between them. For instance, if you need to quickly check your calendar while writing an e-mail, you can bring up the calendar application, then flick back to e-mail, then keep switching between them as you try to work out your schedule.

Other reviewers were also sending positive signals about the Pre.

Palm Canada’s managing director, Marc Tremblay, is speaking at The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit next week.

Have you registered yet?

Technorati Tags:
Palm, Pre, Canadian Telecom Summit

Last Thursday, the US Federal Trade Commission pulled the plug on servers belonging to Pricewert, an ISP alleged to be associated with illegal internet activity. The shut down also targeted 3FN.net, alleged to be an affiliate.

Although CNet leads off its story by saying that “The Internet might just have gotten a little safer”, it is uncertain that simply closing the company’s San Jose data centre will have a measurable sustained impact. According to information on the 3FN website, still visible on cached searched engine sites,

Our company provides web hosting services and collocation in datacenters worldwide.

The company appears to be registered in Belize.

In dealing with illegal content on the internet, targeting a server has typically not been very effective, since a backup image of the server can be restored and operating off-shore in a short period of time.

As we have pondered before on these pages, how does a country assert its laws over internet content?

Technorati Tags:
illegal content, Pricewert

There will not be a tax on internet services to fund the creation of Canadian content on the internet.

In its Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2009-329 decision yesterday to extend the new media exemption orders on broadcasting content over the internet and mobile networks, the CRTC also called for the development of a national digital strategy.

We have been calling for a national digital strategy for a number of months [for example here and here].

In releasing the CRTC decision, Konrad von Finckenstein, Chairman of the CRTC said yesterday:

Canada needs a comprehensive national strategy to secure its digital future. Such a strategy is essential if we want to maintain a competitive advantage in this global environment.

Another main headline statement for the CRTC is found in paragraph 32 of the decision where the CRTC sets out quite plainly:

the Commission acknowledges that broadcasting in new media is available in many different forms but maintains that it does not intend to regulate in any way the content, quality or availability of material created by individual Canadians in a personal capacity.

Further, the CRTC has finally gotten rid of the artificial distinction between audio and video programming. Three years ago, I wrote a piece asking “Isn’t audio just TV without the pictures?”

A key statement that indicate the CRTC’s understanding of the importance of a hands-off approach to regulation of the internet and new media:

We found that the Internet and mobile services are acting in a complementary fashion to the traditional broadcasting system. Any intervention on our part would only get in the way of innovation.

What else can we read into this? An OpEd in yesterday’s National Post by Marcel Boyer has a similar message in warning not to allow regulation to throttle the ‘net. Still, the CRTC is considering implementing an “undue preference” clause in its consultation for proposed changes to the new media exemption order.

CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein is again going to be a keynote speaker at The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit. Net neutrality and new media will be a focus of this year’s event. The conference opens a week from Monday, on June 15.

Have you registered yet?