The ASA gets to grips with advertising for broadband packages

13 November 2006

With technological improvements occurring at such a rapid rate, high-speed Internet connections, which enable video streaming and online gaming are now available to thousands of homes nationwide. This has led to a flood of advertising for broadband and telephone packages, often making headline-grabbing claims about the high-speeds available and low cost offers. But this advertising explosion has also led to confusion about whether consumers can always obtain the speeds and low costs quoted in advertising. Recent rulings from the ASA have highlighted some of the contentious areas in advertising for these types of products.

The ASA upheld complaints about advertising for Bulldog Broadband on the grounds that the ads were misleading.  Complainants objected that, although the ads promised "up to 8 meg broadband", a significant number of people could not achieve this connection speed due to their distance from their local exchange. One complainant, for example, said that their connection never exceeded five megs, substantially less than the eight megs advertised. The ASA decided that, due to the wide variations in connection speeds available to different consumers, the catch-all words "up to" were not adequate. In an important ruling, with industry-wide implications, Bulldog was ordered to indicate this significant variation in connection speeds prominently in future ads.

Another contentious advertising campaign in this sector was for Carphone Warehouse. High profile ads for this advertiser's TalkTalk telephone package, which promised "free broadband forever", prompted 145 complaints. On investigation, the ASA agreed with complainants' assertions that the service was not, in fact, free because customers were required to pay a connection charge as well as a monthly payment for a telephone package. The ads were also deemed misleading because not all customers were connected to an appropriate exchange, and those who found themselves in such a situation would incur a further charge for the service. The ASA ordered Carphone Warehouse not to broadcast or publish the ads again.

These cases highlight that great care should be taken when considering advertising for broadband services which promise high-speed services free, or at a low cost. A spokesman for the Internet Service Providers' Association advises consumers not to choose a service by price alone. "Like anything, you get what you pay for. Customers should consider a range of features and specifications. Speed is just one indication of internet performance, good internet availability is another," he says, adding that many reputable internet service providers will have a facility that enables customers to check speeds and availability.