ASA Rules On Definition Of Broadband

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

17 August 2004

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) last week upheld a complaint by BT Group and Telewest regarding rival internet service provider (ISP), Wanadoo's description of its 512Kbps broadband service as "full speed".

The firms argued that the offer advertised by Wanadoo (formerly Freeserve) for "full speed broadband for just £17.99 a month" was misleading, as faster speeds of internet connection are available.

Although Wanadoo disputed this, arguing that 512Kbps is widely recognised as the starting speed for broadband, the ASA ruled against it, ordering the ISP to remove the phrase in question from its advertising campaigns.

In a statement, the advertising standards body explained that:

"The Authority considered that consumers would understand "full speed broadband" to mean the maximum speed available for a broadband service. Because broadband was available at the faster speeds of 1 megabits per second (Mbps) and 2 Mbps, the Authority concluded that to claim 512 kbps was "full speed broadband" was misleading. It told the advertisers to remove the claim."

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