Back door ISP brazenness killed Global Mode

Spark's new Lightbox is trying to get viewers hooked on shows like 'Vikings' - pictured. But ISPs brazenly promoting 'back door' access to overseas content through 'Global Mode' attracted its ire.

Call Plus has been forced to back down from its Global Mode service - partly because it was just so brazen placing its back door access in competition with official internet TV services in this country.

Broadcasters took legal action against the internet service providers and the Global Mode company By Pass Network Services - and as a result it will be taken down from September 1, leaving many consumers forced to look elsewhere.

But doors will remain open for other less user- friendly Virtual Private Network Services that also offer back door access to overseas internet TV services that offer better programming.

Sky TV, MediaWorks, Sky TV and TVNZ had lodged a court action against Call Plus and ByPass - and initially they said they would defend their position. The terms of today's out of court settlement are being kept secret.

Sky TV - which led the claim - said the confidential terms were necessary to reach an agreement.

Advocates for an open interest championed the Global Mode service which offered overseas internet TV services from Netflix US. Broadcasters said it ran roughshod over the copyright they had paid to pay for exclusive New Zealand rights.

At a wider level it undermined the free-to- air industry which relies on foreign programming to fund local content on TVNZ and MediaWorks.
The broadcasters' legal challenge came at the cusp of changes that will see the demise of the territorial rights which divides the world up into geographic zones. It is still not clear how the copyright system will develop.

Some internet open access supporters depicted the action as broadcaster bullies holding on to an archaic system and breaching consumer rights. Broadcasters making legal claims were focused on their property rights.

Industry sources tell me that Call Plus's "brazenness" was the biggest factor in the broadcasters taking the legal action that has subsequently led to Global Plus being shut down.

VPN services have been around for years but they have not been heavily promoted like Global Mode was.

Call Plus and other ISPs were actively promoting the service and access to US services alongside new local internet TV services like Neon and Netflix, though Netflix was never active in challenging Global Mode.

Online streaming video has become increasingly competitive as traditional broadcasters and telecommunications companies alike have seen it as an avenue to replace some of their shrinking revenue streams.

While the broadcasters were adamantly opposed to the 'global mode' service, they've been less stringent in their opposition to virtual private networks (VPNs), another way consumers can get around regional blocks