ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2002-35

Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2002-35

Ottawa, 9 July 2002

Determination

The Commission hereby adopts the proposed amendment to the MATV exemption order to recognize that an MATV may operate in an area served by either a licensed or exempt cable distribution undertaking. The exemption order further clarifies that an exempt MATV undertaking may allow use of its facilities by either a licensed or exempt distribution undertaking for making available, to the residents of the building served by the MATV undertaking, the service provided by the distribution undertaking. The MATV exemption order, as amended, is appended to this public notice.

Secretary General

Appendix to Public Notice CRTC 2002-35

Exemption order respecting master antenna television systems (MATV)

The Commission, pursuant to subsection 9(4) of the Broadcasting Act, by this order, exempts from the requirements of Part II of the Act and any regulations, those persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings of the class defined by the following criteria:

I.

Purpose

These distribution undertakings, commonly known as satellite master antenna television (SMATV) systems, or more simply as master antenna television (MATV) systems, have as their general purpose the distribution to the temporary or permanent residents of multiple unit dwellings such as hotels, apartment buildings, condominiums and row houses, of services generally accessible by residents of single unit dwellings.

II.

Description

1. The entire undertaking:

a) is situated exclusively on land owned or leased by the person carrying on the undertaking, or, in the case of an undertaking carried on by a condominium corporation, by such corporation or any of its members; or

b) is effectively controlled by and provides service only to an educational institution, including residential buildings owned by and forming part of such institution.

2. (a) The undertaking is not connected by any form or means of transmission, apart from i) the direct over-the-air reception of conventional broadcast signals, ii) the direct satellite reception of services, or iii) the use of microwave or optical fibre to connect the building portion* of an MATV undertaking to its remote head end portion, which is solely and exclusively owned or leased by the person carrying on the undertakings, and which serves that building portion only,

i) to any land not owned or leased by the person or persons described above, or

ii) crossing over or under any public street or highway (or in the case of any MATV system fully built before 2 March 1994, over any public street or highway), except in the case of an undertaking carried on by a condominium corporation, or by a registered cooperative society, all of whose members reside on the land on which the undertaking is situated, or by an educational institution described in 1 b) above.

b) Notwithstanding 2(a) above, the operator of an MATV distribution undertaking may allow a licensed or exempt distribution undertaking to use that MATV's distribution facilities for the purpose of distributing the licensed or exempt undertaking's service, provided the entire service of the licensed or exempt distribution undertaking is offered to the residents of the building involved.

3. a) No separate charge is levied, or direct commercial gain obtained, for the use of any part of the undertaking or for any service provided thereover, except for a charge levied in proportionate amount on subscribers to recover:

i) interest on money borrowed and depreciation, maintenance and administration expenses as reasonably incurred by the operator of the undertaking in connection with the establishment and maintenance of the undertaking, and

ii) the reasonable charge or fee payable by the operator of the undertaking to the distributor of a service or to an agent appointed by the operator of the undertaking to act on its behalf in arranging and administering agreements with service distributors.

b) No operator of an undertaking shall have any legal or beneficial ownership interest in any third party providing to the operator, for that undertaking, any services for which separate charges are levied with respect to the matters authorized under paragraphs 3(a) (i) and (ii), unless a contract was entered into on or before 18 May 1989, in which case the application of this subsection to that relationship will only become effective upon the expiration of the term of the said contract.

"Signals of local Canadian television stations" means the signals of all television broadcasting stations licensed by the Commission having Grade A "official contours" (as defined in the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations, as amended) enclosing the area in which the undertaking in question is carried on.

5. No service received over-the-air or by satellite or microwave or optical fibre transmission is distributed over the undertaking, other than a service that the Commission by regulation, condition of licence, or otherwise has authorized for distribution by the operator of a licensed or exempt cable distribution undertaking serving the area within which the MATV undertaking is situated, whether or not the cable operator is actually distributing the service.

Subject to paragraph 4 above, the signals distributed by the exempt MATV undertaking need not be identical to those signals distributed by the licensed or exempt cable distribution undertaking serving the area, so long as they are signals of affiliates of the same network.

6. A majority of the video channels and a majority of the audio channels received by each permanent or temporary residence are devoted to the distribution of Canadian programming services.

7. No locally originated feature motion picture is distributed over the undertaking.

8. Notwithstanding paragraphs 5 and 7 above, an undertaking serving the temporary residents of hotels, motels and hospitals or the inmates of prisons may distribute the programming authorized for distribution by Closed Circuit Video Programming Undertakings as set out in this Public Notice.