Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Advertising Standards (318 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Advertising Standards

TalkTalk and BT in Comedy Squabble Over Promotional Rocket Graphics

5th December, 2014 (11 Comments)

Several weeks ago the Director of BT’s Superfast Broadband Programme in Cornwall, Ranulf Scarbrough, comically complained to us and others that TalkTalk had “stolen our rocket!“. At the time we chuckled and moved on from what appeared to be little more than a bit of comedy jesting between competitive foes in the ISP sector, but today it’s made the news.

Lycamobile UK’s False Unlimited 4G Mobile Data Ad Banned for a Third Time

26th November, 2014 (3 Comments)

Mobile operator Lycamobile UK appears to have become a serial offender after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned, for a third time no less, a “misleading” promotion on their website that claimed to offer “UNLIMITED DATA NOW WITH 4G” when in fact the data usage was effectively capped to just 5GB (GigaBytes).

UPDATE BT Get Sky’s Misleading “BEST EVER Broadband” Advert Banned

19th November, 2014 (4 Comments)

The tit-for-tat ISP advertising wars appear to be continuing after BT succeeded in getting the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to ban a national press advert for Sky Broadband’s service, which apparently misled the public by claiming to be Sky’s “BEST EVER broadband offer“.

Which? Magazine Calls for Broadband ISP Speed Guarantee.. Again

17th November, 2014 (13 Comments)

Consumer magazine Which? has once again called for Internet providers to offer consumers a Broadband Speed Guarantee after its latest online survey of over 2,000 UK adults found that only 5% of people agreed that the way service speeds are currently advertised is the clearest way.

UPD ASA Ban TalkTalk ISP Advert for “Unbeatable” and “Fastest Wi-Fi” Claim

12th November, 2014 (1 Comment)

A circular advert for TalkTalk’s broadband package has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for being “misleading” after it claimed that the ISPs new Super Router device was able to offer subscribers “unbeatable signal strength” and the “UK’s fastest Wi-Fi technology.” Oops.

UPDATE ASA UK Allow BT to Describe FTTC as “Fibre Optic” Broadband

12th November, 2014 (52 Comments)

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has once again ruled that it’s perfectly fine for ISPs to describe hybrid-fibre broadband connections, such as those based off BT’s ‘up to’ 80Mbps capable Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) technology, to describe such services as “fibre optic” even though they can also involve a significant amount of slower copper cable.

JT Gets Sure Advert Banned for Misleading “UNLIMITED” Data Claim

15th October, 2014 (4 Comments)

The Jersey (Channel Islands) based telecoms operator JT has managed to get a website and press advert for rival Sure Ltd. banned after the provider misleadingly promoted their pay monthly mobile tariffs as offering both “UNLIMITED” data and txt messages, which was despite the operator applying restrictions in its Fair Usage Policy (FUP).

BT and Sky Get Virgin Media Ads Banned for Misleading Price Claims

15th October, 2014 (15 Comments)

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has once again banned several adverts for Virgin Media’s various broadband, phone and TV bundles after BT and Sky Broadband (BSkyB) complained that the operator misrepresented the pricing and potential savings of its packages.

BT and Sky Get Virgin Media UK Adverts Banned for “5x Faster” Claim

17th September, 2014 (4 Comments)

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a TV, website and several press adverts for Virgin Media’s cable broadband service after rival ISPs, BT and Sky Broadband (BSkyB), complained that the promotions “misled” consumers by claiming the service offered Internet download speeds that were “5x faster than Sky and BT’s regular broadband“.

ASA UK Ban Misleading Primus Saver Unlimited Broadband Advert

21st August, 2014 (0 Comments)

Budget ISP Primus Saver (New Call Telecom), which recently scrapped some of their old packages due to low uptake (here and here), has had a website advert for their “Unlimited Broadband for just £2” service banned after one of their customers suffered a mid-contract price rise for both line rental and broadband.

The Forgotten Importance of Broadband Internet Upload Speeds

20th August, 2014 (60 Comments)

Hands up if your broadband ISP makes the upload (upstream) speed of your Internet package clear on their advertising? We thought not. Sadly only a few of the major ISPs even bother to advertise upload performance and those that do only tend to show it on certain products. But how fast you can push information into the online world does matter and its importance is growing.

Sky Gets UK Virgin Media Advert Banned for Misleading Bundle Comparison

13th August, 2014 (0 Comments)

A regional press advert for Virgin Media’s old cable broadband, phone and TV bundles (specifically the ‘Premiere Collection’) has been banned for being “misleading” by the Advertising Standards Authority after Sky (Sky Broadband) complained that the comparison with its rival ‘The Family Bundle’ was wrong.

BT TV Advert for UK “Fibre Optic Broadband” Banned for Illegible Text

13th August, 2014 (10 Comments)

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a TV advert for BT’s superfast “fibre optic broadband” BTInfinity (FTTC) service after an individual complained that the second set of on-screen text, which contained several significant conditions, was not clearly legible.

Failure to Respond Gets Lycamobile UK Unlimited 4G Data Ad Banned

10th August, 2014 (2 Comments)

As predicted last month the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) will next week ban a website advert for a Lycamobile service, which misleadingly claimed to offer “UNLIMITED 4G DATA“, after the operator failed to respond to the advertising watchdogs enquiries.

Lycamobile’s UK Unlimited 4G Mobile Broadband Data Advert Faces Ban

14th July, 2014 (8 Comments)

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) looks set to ban an add-on service from Lycamobile, which perhaps misleadingly claimed to offer “UNLIMITED 4G DATA“, after the mobile operator failed to respond to the advertising watchdogs enquiries.

TalkTalk Ads Banned for Claiming to Offer Britain’s “lowest priced” Broadband

9th July, 2014 (4 Comments)

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a mailing, website and press advert for TalkTalk after a member of the public and BT complained that the ISP was misleading the public by claiming to offer “Britain’s lowest priced” totally unlimited broadband service in all three promotions.

ASA Ban BT Advert for Claiming Sky Would Switch-Off O2 Broadband Users

9th July, 2014 (5 Comments)

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a BT direct mailing advert, which Sky Broadband claimed had mislead recipients of the promotion because it implied that Sky would “switch off” O2’s old fixed line home broadband service in April 2014 (i.e. suggesting that customers might be left stranded).