Cox Gigablast Advertising Claims Challenged – Some Upheld, Some Not

The National Advertising Division (NAD) of Better Business Bureau National Programs has upheld some claims made by Cox in television and radio advertising for its Gigablast internet service but has advised Cox to make changes to the advertisements. BBB National Programs is a non-profit organization that resolves disputes between advertisers. The decision came in response to a challenge from AT&T. In the ads, Cox states that it has gigabit available everywhere – a claim that NAD said is true throughout areas where the advertising has run. NAD also accepted Cox’s claim that less than half of AT&T Fiber customers have access to speeds of at least 1 Gbps because of the limited availability of AT&T services based on fiber-to-the-premises. NAD noted, however, that Cox upload speeds are only 35 Mbps and advised Cox to indicate that in its advertising. According to a press release, NAD noted that “consumers seeking gig-speed (or faster) internet services should understand both the upload and download speeds, particularly because the upload and download speeds are so different. Both upload and download speeds may be relevant to a consumer’s interest in gig-speed internet.”