After Comcast complains, Verizon is told to alter deceptive “#1” speed ads

Verizon ads claiming that FiOS fiber service "is rated #1 in Internet speed" are misleading and should be changed, the National Advertising Review Board (NARB) said. Verizon doesn't actually offer the fastest speeds, but the company justifies the claim based on PC Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Survey. NARB's decision—which came after a complaint filed by Comcast—noted that ranking "was not based on a comparison of objective Internet speed performance and/or a head-to-head comparison of different Internet service providers." Instead, it was based on customers' perceptions. Verizon ads do note that the #1 claim is based on "customer satisfaction studies," but the board ruled that Verizon's ads made it seem as if the company actually offers the industry's fastest speeds. "NARB, in its decision, noted that one of the challenged advertisements was 'fast-moving, with objective speed claims made in parts of the advertisement and a visual that prominently links the #1 rating to Internet speed rather than customer satisfaction. In this context, reasonable consumers may very well take away a message that Verizon’s #1 rating is based on a comparison of objective Internet speed performance and/or a head-to-head comparison of different Internet service providers,'" the review board said.

The board also recommended that Verizon modify its claim of superior picture quality "to more clearly communicate that the higher rating with respect to HD picture quality was a customer satisfaction rating based on consumers’ rating of their own Internet service providers."