CallPlus chickens out of Global Mode, but Aussie ISP signs on

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The company that created the controversial "Global Mode" technology has rebounded from its recent legal setback by signing a deal with an Australian ISP.

Bypass Network Services Ltd (BNSL) commercial director Matthew Jackson tells NBR that a new internet service provider, Yournet – due to launch across the Tasman in August – has licensed global mode and will offer it to all its customers. Yournet will have a single plan, priced at $A129.95 per month. Its founder, British ex-pat Raj Bhuva (ex CMC Markets), says the service will be aimed specifically at those who like to stream videom from overseas sites.

Global Mode allows every customer of an ISP to access overseas services that are usually geo-blocked, such as the US version of Netflix (which has a lot more content than its Australian and New Zealand versions), BBC iPlayer, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Unlike software add-ons, you don't need any level of technical nous.

BNSL is also lining up a deal with an Indonesian partner (as NBR reported April 21). Today, Mr Jackson added the nuance that the service offered via IndonesianCloud will be "tailored to the local market" where strict censorship laws prohibit violent scenes plus sex scenes as mild as kissing. BNSL is well-equipped to deal with such filtering requirements given it has a cyber safety product called BuddyGuard in development.

There is no doubt BNSL took a major revenue hit when the Global Mode case was settled before a High Court trial. BNSL and its major client, CallPlus,which has 220,000 customers across its Slingshot, Orcon and Flip brands, agreed to drop Global Mode in NZ. In return, Sky TV, TVNZ, MediaWorks and Lightbox-owner Spark agreed to drop legal action.

But while CallPlus accounted for most of BNSL's revenue ahead of the settlement, Mr Jackson says "The future of our business is in Europe."

The European Union's move to eliminate geoblocking has created a major business opportunity for his company and it is fielding multiple enquires from EU countries. Mr Jackson says BNSL has interest from ISPs in multiple EU countries.

NBR understands from an April 13 interview that at least one New Zealand government agency is assisting BNSL with its offshore push.

The company is also in talks with several ISPs over its BuddyGuard service, Mr Jackson says. Like Global Mode, BuddyGuard covers all customers who belong to an ISP. The filtering software will provide options for parents worried about which sites their children can access.

All parties in the Global Mode settlement are bound by a confidentiality clause, leaving NBR to speculate over the reasons BNSL and CallPlus threw in the tow+l over the High Court case.

In BNSL's case, it's probably straightforward. The four-person company always said it did not have the resources to fight Sky, TVNZ, MediaWorks and Spark without CallPlus in its corner. But why would CallPlus bail? It's notable that its new Australian owner, M2, recently lost the Dallas Buyers Club download case in Australia. Although there were different principles involved in the Global Mode and Dallas cases, M2's decision not to appeal the Dallas ruling indicated it had perhaps lost its appetite for protracted fights over copyright.

Mr Jackson is unfazed about the climate across the ditch, however.

He points to a percent post on the website of Malcolm Turbull, communications minister in Tony Abbott's government – particularly a section of the Q&A that reads:

Q: Many Australians use a VPN to access Netflix in the US. Is it illegal for me to use a VPN to access Netflix?

A: The Copyright Act does not make it illegal to use a VPN to access overseas content.
While content providers often have in place international commercial arrangements to protect copyright in different countries or regions, which can result in ‘geoblocking,' circumventing this is not illegal under the Copyright Act.

That's a statement that's going to cause some sharp intakes of breath for Sky TV and others on this side of the Tasman. A VPN (virtual private network) works on the same principle as Global Mode, albeit just for an individual rather than every customer on an ISP.