Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Advertising Standards (317 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Advertising Standards

Dear UK Broadband ISPs – Make Your Post Contract Prices Clear

12th April, 2023 (25 Comments)

We’ve lost count now of how many times ISPreview has had to say this over the years, but there are still far too many broadband ISPs in the UK – particularly larger players – that fail to clearly inform their customers of how much their package will cost post-contract. As a result, consumers often feel misled when it comes time to re-contract.

Internet law uk broadband and telecoms by 123rf

CMA Clamps Down on Online UK Rip-offs and Misleading Prices

29th March, 2023 (7 Comments)

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today set out its “red lines” for businesses (including broadband and mobile providers) that make use of “price reduction” and “urgency claims” when selling their products and services to UK consumers. People are also being encouraged to report online rip-offs via a new form.

Ofcom UK Clamps Down on Misleading Uses of “Fibre” Broadband UPDATE2

8th March, 2023 (80 Comments)

Good news. The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed new guidance that would only allow broadband ISPs to use the terms “fibre” and “full-fibre” on their websites and in contracts “if their network uses fibre-optic cables all the way from the exchange to the home” (i.e. FTTP).

Hyperoptic’s Full Fibre Broadband Covers 1.15 Million UK Homes

14th February, 2023 (8 Comments)

Broadband ISP Hyperoptic has today confirmed that their “full fibre” (FTTP/B) network now covers 1.15 million UK homes, which will need to almost double in order to hit their goal of 2 million by the end of 2023. The provider has also launched a TV campaign to criticise ISPs that adopt “misleading” mid-contract price hikes.

Ofcom UK Reviews Mid-Contract Broadband ISP Price Hikes UPDATE2

9th February, 2023 (57 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today officially launched a new review that will finally examine whether inflation-linked mid-contract price rises give phone and broadband ISP customers “sufficient certainty and clarity about what they can expect to pay.”

ASA Ban Instagram Ad that Vodafone UK Claimed Wasn’t Marketing

8th February, 2023 (2 Comments)

The question of what is and is not a marketing communication cropped up again after the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned an Instagram post and story linked to mobile and broadband provider Vodafone, which is despite the operator claiming they did not believe that the posts were advertorials.

BT Suspend Doorstep Selling on Isle of Wight After Serious Complaint

7th February, 2023 (27 Comments)

BT (EE) has suspended doorstep selling on the Isle of Wight, which was being conducted on their behalf by a third-party firm ‘Money Expert‘, after rival broadband ISP WightFibre complained that the sellers had allegedly been making some very dishonest claims about the operator.

House of Lords Debates Rising Broadband Prices from UK ISPs

3rd February, 2023 (8 Comments)

A short but interesting debate took place yesterday in the House of Lords (Parliament), which saw many cross-party peers call on the UK government – represented by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (DCMS) – to do more to help tackle the impact of recent above-inflation price hikes by broadband ISPs.

Confusion After 1Gb Virgin Media Users Get Hub 4 Instead of 5

28th January, 2023 (72 Comments)

A number of Virgin Media’s UK broadband ISP customers have been left frustrated after they were promised the provider’s latest Hub 5 router (Sagemcom F3896LG-VMB) with their package, but instead ended up being sent an inferior Hub 4 (Arris TG3492LG-VMB) and with no clear promise to rectify the issue at a later date.

ASA Bans Vodafone UK’s “Reliable, Award-Winning Network” Claim

23rd November, 2022 (7 Comments)

A complaint raised by EE (BT) has prompted the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to ban a website banner and press advert for broadband and mobile provider Vodafone, which were both found to have made a “misleading” claim of being “the UK’s Reliable, Award-winning network“.

Hyperoptic Survey Finds Confusion Over Broadband Price Hikes

16th November, 2022 (18 Comments)

A new survey commissioned by full fibre ISP Hyperoptic, which was conducted by Attest during October 2022 and surveyed 1,000 UK broadband bill payers, has found that many consumers continue to be confused by the language that providers use when communicating mid-contract price hikes.

Questioning the Stability of Static IP Addresses from UK ISPs

12th November, 2022 (58 Comments)

When is a Static IP (Internet Protocol) address, not a Static IP address? The answer to this question should be simple (i.e. when it changes), but a recent consumer complaint against popular broadband ISP Hyperoptic has helped to highlight how the market appears to lack a common position on how to manage them.

Consumers Want End to Mid-Contract Broadband and Mobile Price Hikes

8th November, 2022 (10 Comments)

A new Opinium survey of 2,000 UK adults, which was commissioned by Uswitch during October 2022, has unsurprisingly found that 81% of respondents think mid-contract price increases by broadband ISPs and mobile operators are “unfair” and 80% want more providers to offer fixed price contracts.

Survey Finds Confusion Over UK Broadband and Full Fibre Jargon

26th September, 2022 (29 Comments)

A new Censuswide survey of 2,001 UK adults (aged 16+) that have broadband, which was commissioned by ISP Zen Internet and conducted during May 2022, has found that 32% of respondents still aren’t confident they can define what “full fibre” is – that’s up from 28% when the same question was asked in 2021.

Adverts Watchdog Tackles UK Mid-Contract Telecoms Price Hikes

8th September, 2022 (8 Comments)

The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP and BCAP) – sister body to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) – has launched a consultation on new guidance that would require information about mid-contract prices hikes to be more prominently stated in ads by broadband ISPs and mobile operators to “avoid misleading consumers“.

ASA Bans Ad for Lebara Mobile Over FUP in “Unlimited” Claims

10th August, 2022 (10 Comments)

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a website advert for UK mobile operator Lebara after a rival provider, Vectone Mobile, complained that the company was “misleadingly” promoting “unlimited” UK minutes and texts on plans that included a Fair Usage Policy (FUP) with thresholds.

BT Get Sky Broadband UK Ads Banned for “Top Performing” Claim

10th August, 2022 (10 Comments)

A complaint raised by rival UK ISP BT (EE) has resulted in the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banning two adverts (a website and email promotion) for Sky Broadband’s service, both of which were found to have misleadingly claimed that the company was the “Top Performing Major Provider“.