VirginMedia Loses ASA Ruling on Marketing of Speed

IanFogg | July 02, 2008, 07:11 AM

Info on the ruling.

Unlimited broadband = 12 minutes - My take in April on the detail of this traffic management scheme.

As I've said before, it is in the broadband industry's interests to be clearer and less ambiguous on the way they market broadband and broadband speeds.

Otherwise if the market is opaque and confusing, no ISP will be able to charge a premium for faster, quality, broadband as no consumer will be able to tell which service is better. Result: all ISPs will suffer declining revenues as consumers opt for the cheapest services.

I've been mulling over some new UK and European consumer data on attitudes to speed which makes for extremely scary reading for ISPs (clients please ask). It will be published in a forthcoming report.

In the meantime, have a browse of some of my earlier analysis of broadband marketing, the ASA and VirginMedia. As you will see, I'm not even slightly surprised about this ASA ruling!

VirginMedia is far from alone in stretching the truth, but this is the first major ruling that has gone against them. Most of the previous ASA rulings have focused on VM's competitors.

VirginMedia's traffic management, which is what the current ASA ruling that VM lost is about.

VirginMedia and a previous ASA ruling which VM won.

What Ofcom is doing from an industry perspective, as like me, Ofcom realise it's in everyone's interest to sort this out.