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The National Advertising Department (NAD) of BBB National Programs has determined that AT&T Services, Inc. claims to have a “faster Internet experience” than cable for uploading large files, and is supported in the context of its presentation, and that AT&T Internet provides “consistent Speed, even during peak hours.” However, NAD recommends that AT&T discontinue or modify other challenging comparative performance, pricing, and bandwidth claims.

The statement appeared on television, radio, advertisers' web pages and outdoor advertisements, and was questioned by Charter Communications, Inc.

"Upload speed increased by 20 times" claims

There is no doubt that the upload speed of AT&T's fastest service layer (Internet 1000) is 20 times faster than the challenger's equivalent. However, NAD determined that the comparison of "AT&T Fiber" and "cable" in the questioned advertisement is a kind of jargon, because it makes AT&T Fiber-as a generic brand, rather than the AT&T Fiber Internet 1000 layer variety-and cable Opposite. In addition, NAD found that AT&T’s disclosures did not effectively limit the applicability of claims, so a rational consumer would take away unsupported information, that is, the upload speed provided by AT&T Fiber is 20 times faster than any layer of cable.

NAD also pointed out that the challenged ads confuse higher-level service performance statements with introductory-level price discounts.

Therefore, NAD recommends that AT&T stop or modify advertisements for special ladies, super fans, frustrated families, and reliability, describe the service level with "upload speed increased by 20 times", and, if the offer is stated, disclose the offer clearly and prominently Which service level is applicable.

"Half the cable price" claim

There is no doubt that the price of AT&T's most expensive commercial fiber service layer Internet 1000 is half the price of the challenger's equivalent layer. However, NAD concluded that a rational consumer would take away unsupported information, that is, the price of AT&T commercial fiber at any service level is half the price of cable. In addition, NAD found that in a questioned advertisement, AT&T's disclosure was insufficient because it did not explain the basis for the "half-price" claim, and other advertisements did not disclose at all.

Therefore, NAD recommends that AT&T stop commercial fiber optics and small business owners’ commercials, as well as commercial fiber websites and outdoor advertisements that have been questioned on price statements, or modify them to limit the “half the cable price” statement to AT&T’s top commercial fiber services. And the equivalent cable layer.

NAD determined that the benefits of superior bandwidth are relevant to consumers because it enables them to conduct regular Internet-related activities without experiencing bandwidth issues. Since downstream bandwidth plays a greater role in most Internet usage, NAD found that a number based on downstream bandwidth—or at least a comprehensive bandwidth number that accounts for the relative weight of upstream and downstream use—is more than a comprehensive indicator. Related indicators. The numbers depend to a large extent on favorable upstream bandwidth capabilities.

For this reason, NAD recommends that AT&T modify the bandwidth advantage statement in the commercial fiber business and AT&T fiber and Internet service web pages to avoid making general bandwidth advantage statements, or when they refer to AT&T's upstream bandwidth capabilities to distinguish between uploads and downloads The ability to clarify.

If there is no evidence in the record that the cable cannot provide sufficient upload speed to support video conferencing, surfing, streaming, and gaming, NAD recommends that advertisers stop claiming that optical fiber provides excellent performance for these activities, including broadcast advertisements for small business owners, Internet Service pages, special ladies, super fans, and frustrated family advertisements, as well as in its fast Internet radio advertisements claiming that AT&T provides a "faster Internet experience" for video conferencing and games.

NAD pointed out that nothing in the record can prevent AT&T from making a support statement, that is, AT&T Fiber provides superior performance while providing consumers with a superior experience with its faster upload speed.

Regarding the challenging advertisement that emphasizes the faster upload speed of AT&T Fiber for uploading large files, NAD has determined to support such a statement. NAD found that on the AT&T Fiber webpage, it supports the "faster Internet experience" statement in the context of self-comparison. NAD also determined that the "faster Internet experience" claim is confirmed in the limited context of describing or discussing large file uploads.

However, NAD warns advertisers that combining "faster Internet experience" with descriptions or references of other forms of Internet usage may convey a broader message, namely the relative speed of AT&T fiber and cable Internet, which requires support.

NAD does not believe that this record confirms the broad claims of advertisers that fiber-optic Internet is better than cable, and AT&T Fiber provides a "better Internet" than cable. Therefore, NAD recommends that AT&T stop claiming on Special Lady, Business Fiber and Super Fan advertisements and Internet 1000 web pages that AT&T Fiber provides a "better Internet" than cables, and avoid suggesting that fiber optic technology is always better than cable technology.

Regarding the "Better Internet" statement in the Big Meeting advertisement, NAD found that it did not convey any unsupported comparison information, but instead referred to the correlation between upload speed and large file transfers. However, NAD warned AT&T that combining a "better Internet" with descriptions or references to other forms of Internet usage other than large file uploads may convey broader information about the comparative performance of AT&T's fiber optic and wired Internet. Will need support.

Regarding advertisers claiming that AT&T provides “consistent speed, even during peak hours,” NAD found that consumers would not take away information about the relative advantages of AT&T services and cable TV services in context, but would treat it as about AT&T The overall consistency of Internet speed.

In addition, based on the evidence, NAD determined that AT&T's speed consistency claims on the Internet, high-speed Internet, and Internet 1000 pages were confirmed.

During the litigation, the advertiser voluntarily revised the statement on its AT&T Fiber webpage, "Get more when switching to AT&T Fiber... [u] Limited Internet data... No data cap[,] No annual contract, [ And] 99% reliability", the language "switch to AT&T optical fiber" is no longer used, which will make a comparative claim on the cable.

NAD agrees that the revised website does not reasonably convey any unsupported information about the comparative advantages available to AT&T customers.

AT&T stated in its advertiser statement that it will appeal “all components of the challenged statement that NAD believes to be false, misleading, and/or unverified.” NAD’s decision of this type of appeal is to the country of the BBB National Plan It was proposed by the Advertising Review Board (NARB), which is the appeal-level advertising authenticity agency of the BBB National Plan.

The summary of all BBB national plan case decisions can be found in the case decision database. For the full text of NAD, NARB and CARU decisions, please subscribe to the online archive.

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