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New York, NY – October 17, 2024 – In a challenge brought by AT&T Services, Inc., BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) recommended Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, in connection with Comcast Business Internet:
AT&T and Comcast are competitors that offer internet service to small businesses nationwide. Comcast offers a wired internet product, while AT&T offers a wireless internet product and a wired “fiber” internet product in some markets.
The challenged claim, “Comcast Business Internet has speeds up to 12x faster than Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile,” appeared in television and radio advertisements and via direct mail.
NAD determined that Comcast’s advertisements did not clearly disclose the exact products being compared. As a result, NAD found that consumers could reasonably understand the challenged advertising as touting Comcast business internet as 12x faster than all AT&T internet services. In markets where AT&T offers both fiber and 5G internet service, such a message is not supported.
NAD concluded that Comcast’s advertising should be limited to the specific services compared in markets where AT&T offers both 5G and fiber internet service and avoid conveying the misleading message that its service is 12x faster than AT&T’s internet service generally.
For these reasons, NAD recommended that in markets where AT&T offers a wired fiber product with speeds faster than 100 Mbps to small business customers Comcast should discontinue its claim that “Comcast Business Internet has speeds up to 12x faster than Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile” or modify it to limit the message to the specific products compared and otherwise avoid conveying the message that AT&T does not have a faster service with speeds more comparable to Comcast’s fastest product’s speeds.
In its advertiser statement, Comcast stated that it agrees to comply with NAD’s recommendation, however it disagreed “that small business customers would expect the advertised speed comparison to relate to a fiber service rather than the 5G business internet offerings of the three wireless companies together.”
All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive. This press release shall not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.
About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.
About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. NAD reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business.
