The Supreme Court of Canada has announced that it will hear an
important "convergence" case respecting regulatory
treatment of Internet access to broadcasting content.
On March 24, the Court granted leave to appeal last
summer's judgement of the Federal Court of Appeal, which found
that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) do not carry on
"broadcasting undertakings", within the meaning of the
Broadcasting Act, when they provide access through the
Internet to broadcasting material requested by users.
That decision, Re Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (2010) FCA 178, was
initiated by a Reference
Order issued by the CRTC, in order to resolve
fundamental questions respecting the distinction, for the purpose
of the Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications
Act, between telecommunications service providers and
broadcasting undertakings. In that case, the Federal Court of
Appeal found that in providing content-neutral access to
"broadcasting"
