OTTAWA — One of the country's biggest mobile companies is hoping the courts will overturn a decision by Canada's telecom regulator that was aimed at creating greater price fairness for mobile TV services.
Bell Mobility Inc. charges $5 per month for its Bell Mobile TV service, and allows customers to stream up to 10 hours of programming on their mobile devices without counting the usage against their monthly wireless data caps.
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission ruled last month the pricing model was unlawful because it effectively made mobile TV services from other providers uncompetitive.
Bell Mobility, which is owned by BCE Inc., has asked the Federal Court of Appeal for permission to appeal the CRTC decision.
It argues that Bell Mobile TV is a broadcasting service and doesn't fall under the Telecommunications Act.
Bell also argues there is no evidence that the pricing model harms consumers.
Internet access advocacy group OpenMedia says Bell wants to retain the power to artificially inflate the price of independent services like Netflix instead of providing consumers choice on a level playing field.
