ARCHIVED - Broadcasting - Commission Letter to Mr. Moskowitz
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Ottawa, 18 October 2002
Mr. David Moskowitz Dear Mr. Moskowitz: Subject: Black and Grey Market Satellite Activities of CTY Telecom in CanadaThe Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) wishes to bring to your attention the activities of CTY Telecom (CTY), a Canadian company that has admitted in the course of a CRTC proceeding that it is involved in grey and black market satellite activities. The CRTC is an independent public authority responsible for regulating and supervising all aspects of the Canadian broadcasting system. The CRTC derives its regulatory authority over broadcasting from the Broadcasting Act (the Act). The Canadian Cable Television Association, on behalf of the Black Market Coalition (the Coalition), filed a complaint with the CRTC on 28 March 2002 alleging that CTY was operating a broadcasting distribution undertaking in Canada without a licence, in contravention of section 32 of the Act. Section 32 provides, among other things, that any person who, not being exempt from the requirement to hold a licence, carries on a broadcasting undertaking is guilty of an offence and is punishable on summary conviction. In its complaint, the Coalition requested that the Commission issue a mandatory order against CTY, pursuant to section 12 of the Act, requiring it to cease and desist its unauthorized activities. The CRTC initiated a proceeding to deal with this complaint. In the course of this proceeding, both CTY and the Coalition provided written submissions to the CRTC. I have enclosed a copy of the complete record of this proceeding for your convenience. In the course of the CRTC's proceeding, CTY stated that it is involved in a number of activities that use the signals of EchoStar's Dish Network satellite service. Specifically, these activities include the sale of smart cards to enable its customers to receive EchoStar programming (see CTY response, 19 April 2002, p. 3) and CTY's use of an address in Houston, Texas to program its customers' smart cards (CTY response, 19 April 2002, p. 4). Further, as noted in the CRTC's decision, in the course of this proceeding CTY has clearly admitted that it is involved in both black and grey market activities (CTY submission, 27 May 2002, p. 2). In Complaint by the Black Market Coalition alleging that CTY Telecom is operating an unlicensed broadcasting distribution undertaking, Decision CRTC 2002-319, 18 October 2002 (copy attached), the CRTC found that the record of its proceeding does not support a conclusion that CTY is carrying on a distribution undertaking in Canada. Consequently, the Commission will not institute any proceeding with regard to the issuance of a mandatory order, as requested by the Coalition.The Commission has, however, provided the Canadian Department of Industry, the government department responsible for administering the Radiocommunication Act and which deals with the illegal decoding of programming signals, with the record of the proceeding so that it may take any action necessary with respect to CTY, including the transmittal of this record to enforcement authorities. As stated in its decision, the CRTC is concerned about the negative impact that the activities of grey and black market dealers have on Canadian programmers and distributors. For this reason, it would be appreciated if you could provide the CRTC with a response to this letter, indicating whether or not the above-noted activities of CTY are being carried on with Dish Network's knowledge or consent. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely, Attachments
Cc: Janet Yale, CCTA Date Modified: 2002-10-18 |
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