Canada cracks down on zero-rating in two net neutrality rulings

The list of countries that find zero-rating to be a violation of network neutrality just keeps on growing, with Canada the latest to crack down on the practice. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission issued a decision against carriers Bell Mobility and Vidéotron, which were exempting their own mobile TV services from their regular data plans (for a small monthly fee of around $5) while counting traffic for rival services against those data caps.

Video content is, of course, about as data-heavy as it gets. Vidéotron has until the end of March to confirm that it has withdrawn its mobile TV app as it promised it would, and Bell has until April 29 to stop its violations. According to the CRTC, the result will be “an open and fair marketplace for mobile TV services, enabling innovation and choice for Canadians.”