An information session is to be held on March 16 to help determine whether TFN Media Co’s over-the-top (OTT) service in Hualien last year breached the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法), the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday.
Although TFN, which is affiliated with Taiwan Mobile, has said that it was providing an OTT service, media reports said that subscribers had to also be subscribers to TFN Media’s broadband communication service and only 80 channels were included in the service, making it similar to a cable service.
The commission said that the company might have breached Article 5 of the act by offering cable services without permission.
The commission launched an administrative investigation 11 days after TFN launched the service on Sept. 19 last year, it said.
NCC personnel went to Hualien on Oct. 19 last year to investigate how the service worked, it said.
They found that the company had ceased offering the service on Oct. 14, it said.
TFN Media canceled the service on Nov. 4, the commission said.
The case has triggered a debate over whether TFN was offering an OTT service or a cable service.
After consulting communications experts, the commission said that the service would be considered a cable service if it meets three criteria, NCC Vice Chairman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said.
First, the service is sold or promoted by bundling a specific set-top box with a single cable operator, Wong said.
Second, the service includes a channel package resembling those offered by cable operators, he said.
Third, subscribers can only watch channels through specific set-top boxes offered by cable systems, he said.
“The purpose of holding an information session on the case is to reiterate what the criteria for a cable system are and maintain order in the cable service market,” the commission said.
“However, as more audio-visual services emerge, we also hope that the information would help us set minimum regulatory principles to avoid quashing a potentially innovative service,” it said.
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