Following a challenge from AT&T Services, BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) ruled that Cox Communications, Inc. provided reasonable basis for the express claim that Cox could deliver “gig speeds anywhere” and the implied claim that Cox can provide Gig speeds to all of its customers and AT&T cannot provide Gig speeds (or faster) to all of its customers.
However, NAD recommended that Cox change the following:
- Claiming that “Cox delivers gig speeds everywhere” to disclose that gig speeds are only available for download speeds.
- Its advertising aims to avoid giving the unsupported implied message that AT&T does not offer similar or faster speeds than 5G providers in markets where Cox and AT&T compete.
AT&T Services denied comparison claims made by Cox in a TV and radio commercial for its “Gigablast” internet service, which offers download speeds of 1 Gbps and upload speeds of up to 35 Mbps. Gigablast is available to all Cox residential customers over a hybrid coax-fiber network.
Claim “Gig-Speeds Everywhere”.
The 30-second commercial appears as an animated text message conversation between Cox and AT&T using words and emojis, accompanied by an upbeat, jazzy musical score. NAD found that in connection with the offending television advertisement, the claim that Cox provides “gig speeds everywhere” conveys the message that Cox can provide gig speeds to all customers and AT&T cannot provide gig speeds to all of its customers.
NAD concluded that this message is supported on the basis of evidence that the Cox network uses Gigablast, the 1- Cox gigabit service level, supplied. NAD accepted Cox’s claim that less than half of AT&T Fiber customers have access to gig-speed or faster Internet service due to the limited availability of Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) services across the AT&T network.
Previous decisions by the NAD and BBB National Programs’ appeals body, the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), have concluded that unless qualified, generic comparative Internet speed claims are indicative of download and upload speeds. Here, NAD noted that Cox’s unqualified claim of “gig speeds everywhere” was not supported by the record, as Cox caps upload speeds for all Gigablast users at 35 Mbps, a far slower speed than those in the contested advertisement highlighted download speed of 1 Gbps.
In addition, NAD concluded that the disclosure in the contested television advertisement is confusing, the claim “gig speeds everywhere” is not adequately qualified, and is not clear and conspicuous. NAD noted that consumers looking for gig-speed (or faster) internet services should understand both upload and download speeds, especially because upload and download speeds are so different. Both upload and download speeds can be relevant to a consumer’s interest in gig speed internet.
For these reasons, NAD recommended amending the “Cox Delivers Gig Speeds Everywhere” claim to clearly disclose in close proximity to the claim that gig speeds are only available for download speeds.
Cox customers “can always choose an internet that can deliver faster speeds than 5G providers”
NAD found that a reasonable message from the offending TV ad was that Cox can provide Internet speeds faster than 5G providers and AT&T cannot.
NAD also noted that the attacked radio ad presented the claim in a slightly different context and that a sensible message that consumers will understand from the radio ad is to choose between Cox, which delivers internet speeds faster than 5G providers, or AT&T, which can’t offer speeds faster than 5G providers in markets where Cox and AT&T compete.
NAD concluded that the record does not support the report that AT&T cannot provide faster speeds than 5G providers, as AT&T offers its fiber service in some markets where customers can get 1 gig speeds. Therefore, NAD recommended that Cox change its advertising to avoid the unsupported implied message that AT&T does not offer similar or faster speeds than 5G providers in markets where Cox and AT&T compete.
During the trial, Cox permanently dropped the “latest smart Wi-Fi everywhere” claim. Therefore, NAD has not verified this claim on the merits.
In his statement as an advertiser, Cox stated that it “will conform to NAD’s recommendations.” In addition, the advertiser stated that it “appreciates the self-regulatory process and will consider NAD’s recommendations when developing future advertising.”
