Piracy driving TV revenue in decline, telecom warns
Bermuda’s largest telecoms provider says piracy is gutting its television business, reporting a 10 per cent year-on-year drop in revenue owing to the spread of illegal streaming services and unregulated set-top boxes.
In a submission to the Regulatory Authority’s market review, One Communications argued that pirated content is widespread and openly available on the island, making it difficult for licensed providers to compete.
“It is already clear that there are multiple businesses openly selling highly suspect content-access boxes in Bermuda with no consequences or regulation,” the company wrote. “This is not fair competition.”
It added the drop in revenue was “driven primarily by the availability of low-cost, illegal, unregulated TV content”.
The company added that the RA, which had previously taken enforcement action against piracy, ceased that action “without explanation”.
It said: “It is One Communications’ position that RA is mandated under the law to take action against such providers and should be conducting investigations into the market.”
One warned that if regulators keep ignoring illegal providers while imposing taxes and fees on licensed companies, Bermuda risks driving out its remaining subscription TV operators.
As a potential remedy, the company proposed that the RA publish a non-binding list of apps and services it deems legitimate, allowing consumers to distinguish between legal and pirated options.
“We disagree that pirated content is outside the scope of the market review,” the company stated. “That is because, regardless of its illegality, it affects the pricing and competition for paid content services in Bermuda.”
The island’s major telecoms providers must cut prices and launch new entry-level packages by October 1, under sweeping new rules from the RA.
The move, part of the market review, introduces maximum rates of $80 per month for fixed broadband (100 megabits per second/20 Mbps) and $50 per month for mobile plans with at least ten gigabytes of data.
Last week, in response to the new regulations, One told The Royal Gazette: “One Communications is proud to have always provided the best value for our customers with a wide array of 5G+ plans on prepaid and postpaid, affordable options for the latest devices, full island-wide mobile coverage, and fibre internet speeds of up to 1GB to the home.
“We will continue to engage with the RA to ensure ongoing affordability for our services. One Communications has been investing in Bermuda for over 30 years and are committed to our local workforce, customers, as well as our community engagement and charitable initiatives.”
The Ministry of Home Affairs said the RA mandates were “a direct application of the ministerial directive issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in May, which instructed the authority to strengthen its consumer protection, price fairness and ensure greater accountability across the sectors under its remit”.
Alexa Lightbourne, the Minister of Home Affairs, stated: “We are pleased to see the [RA] take actions reasonably expected of them to ensure that the consumer is not overpaying for connectivity. Affordable access to mobile and internet services is a foundational requirement for modern life — from work and education to family connection.”
She said it aligned with government policy to put money back into the pockets of the people. Ms Lightbourne said the public can expect similar improvements in the energy and grocery sectors, with more announcements this week.
• For the complete Electronic Communications Market Review Consultation Responses, see Related Media
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