Foxtel Management Pty Ltd v Seven Cable Network Television Pty Ltd [2000] FCA 1161

Foxtel Management Pty Ltd v Seven Cable Network Television Pty Ltd [2000] FCA 1161

Foxtel Management and Foxtel Cable together constituted a carriage service provider because, on the commercial arrangements with subscribers and Telstra Multimedia, Foxtel did more than supply content: it undertook to provide and deliver the FOXTEL subscription television service to subscribers using Telstra Multimedia's HFC network unit. The carriage service was the bundled commercial service carrying the communications to the receiver, distinct from the content and from the network infrastructure. If Foxtel were not a carriage service provider under s 87(1), it would in any event be one under s 87(5) because it arranged for the supply of the relevant carriage service for reward. The...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
18 August 2000
Procedural Posture
Appeal and Cross Appeal From a Single Judge of the Federal Court of Australia / Appeal From Declaration That Foxtel Management Pty Limited and Foxtel Cable Television Pty Limited Together Constitute a Carriage Service Provider; Seven Cross Appealed Seeking a Declaration That Each Company Is a Carriage Service Provider
Outcome
Appeal and cross-appeal dismissed.
Legal Topics
['carriage Service Provider' 'content Service Provider' 'listed Carriage Service' 'supply to the Public' 'part XIC Access Regime' 'conditional Access Customer Equipment' 'cable Television Services']
['telecommunications' 'competition and Consumer Law' 'statutory Interpretation'] ['carriage Service Provider' 'content Service Provider' 'listed Carriage Service' 'supply to the Public' 'part XIC Access Regime' 'conditional Access Customer Equipment' 'cable Television Services']

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Procedural Posture

Appeal and Cross Appeal From a Single Judge of the Federal Court of Australia / Appeal From Declaration That Foxtel Management Pty Limited and Foxtel Cable Television Pty Limited Together Constitute a Carriage Service Provider; Seven Cross Appealed Seeking a Declaration That Each Company Is a Carriage Service Provider

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether Foxtel Management Pty Limited and Foxtel Cable Television Pty Limited together constituted a carriage service provider within the meaning and for the purposes of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth).' "Whether Foxtel was merely a content service provider or also supplied a listed carriage service to the public using Telstra Multimedia's HFC network unit." 'Whether, if Foxtel did not directly supply a carriage service under s 87(1), it was a carriage service provider under s 87(5) by arranging for the supply of a listed carriage service for reward.' 'Whether the declaration should state that each Foxtel company individually, rather than both together, was a carriage service provider.']

Ratio Decidendi

Foxtel Management and Foxtel Cable together constituted a carriage service provider because, on the commercial arrangements with subscribers and Telstra Multimedia, Foxtel did more than supply content: it undertook to provide and deliver the FOXTEL subscription television service to subscribers using Telstra Multimedia's HFC network unit. The carriage service was the bundled commercial service carrying the communications to the receiver, distinct from the content and from the network infrastructure. If Foxtel were not a carriage service provider under s 87(1), it would in any event be one under s 87(5) because it arranged for the supply of the relevant carriage service for reward. The...

Court Disposition

Appeal and cross-appeal dismissed.

Orders

  • ['The appeal and cross-appeal be dismissed.' "The appellants pay the respondents' costs of the appeal." "The first and second respondents pay the appellants' costs of the cross-appeal."]