T-Mobile told to quit advertising ‘most reliable’ 5G

The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs advised T-Mobile to stop advertising that its wireless service has the most reliable 5G network based on tests by umlaut, a third-party testing company. The claims in question were made on T-Mobile’s website and in press releases. A chart in the press release shows T-Mobile with a 5G network reliability score of 466.9; AT&T with a score of 357.4; and Verizon with a score of 304.3. AT&T had challenged T-Mobile’s reliability claims saying, in part, that under umlaut’s methodology, a wireless carrier could lag far behind its competitors in task completion but still be crowned “most reliable” based on coverage and speed scores. AT&T also contended umlaut only measures coverage and speed and not reliability. NAD wasn’t satisfied with umlaut’s methodology. NAD also recommended that T-Mobile discontinue the claim that “independent experts from across the industry have sent a clear message time and time again: there’s one network leader and it’s T-Mobile” with regards to a superior reliability message.