ASA Adjudication on Virgin Media Ltd

Ad

A national press ad, for Virgin Media Broadband, was headed "PRESENTING THE MOTHER OF ALL BROADBAND". Below, it stated "IT'S FAST. IT'S FUTURE PROOF. IT'S TIME TO SWITCH TO FIBRE OPTIC BROADBAND. There are two main types of broadband. One uses copper wire. One uses fibre optics. One was invented for phone calls. One was designed with the internet in mind. One is struggling to keep up with the growth of the web. One is not. One slows down the further you live from the phone exchange. One does not. One is used by BT, Talk Talk, Tiscali, Orange, Sky and others. One is used by Virgin Media. Which one have you got? There is only one fibre optic network widely available in the UK. It brings you the Mother of all Broadband. Only from Virgin Media ...". Small print stated "Fibre optic technology is 'The mother of all broadband"'due to factors such as its low signal attenuation, low signal interference and high data-carrying capacity".

Issue

British Sky Broadcasting (Sky) challenged whether:

1. the claim "THE MOTHER OF ALL BROADBAND" was misleading, because it was based on low signal attenuation, low interference and high capacity, which Sky believed were insufficient indicators on which to base a claim that Virgin broadband was superior in every material way;

2. the claim "IT'S FUTURE PROOF" was misleading, because they understood Virgin broadband was no better equipped to deal with next generation Internet requirements than other ISP providers; and

3. the claim that fibre optic cabling was "designed with the internet in mind" was misleading because cable technology predated the invention of the Internet.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

1. Virgin said the claim "THE MOTHER OF ALL BROADBAND" referred to the technology used by Virgin to deliver its broadband, i.e. fibre optics, as opposed to ADSL technology. They pointed out that the small print of the ad stated "Fibre optic technology is 'The Mother of all Broadband' due to factors such as ...".  Virgin believed that made clear that it was the technology used by Virgin that they wanted to highlight as superior and better equipped to deal with 'next-generation' broadband speeds, as demonstrated by the up to 50 Mb broadband service they had recently launched. They pointed out that, for example, fibre optic broadband services experienced low signal attenuation, low interference and high capacity, when compared with ADSL broadband services. They added that those were the key factors that prevented an ADSL network from delivering next-generation broadband speeds. Virgin maintained that those factors were part of the reason BT announced plans to develop by 2012 a fibre optic network to enable it to deliver faster, next-generation broadband speeds.  They believed the fact that the main provider/facilitator of ADSL services in the UK was planning to replicate Virgin's network model in order to deliver next-generation broadband speeds supported their claim.

Virgin said they were the first ISP to offer residential broadband in the UK and were currently the UK's largest ISP.

2. Virgin believed they were far better equipped to deal with next-generation Internet requirements due to the nature of their network.  They said it was a hybrid of fibre and coaxial cable delivering fibre optic cable to the kerb side box with the connection between their network and the customer's home being carried via coaxial cable.  Virgin maintained that such 'infrastructure' was capable of delivering broadband speeds in excess of 100 Mb. They said, on the other hand, the BT network utilised by all other ADSL ISPs to deliver their services, relied on copper telephone wire for the 'last mile' between the exchange and the customer's home.  They pointed out that the delivery of next-generation broadband speeds over such an infrastructure was virtually impossible.

3. Virgin maintained that the ad did not claim that fibre optic technology was designed specifically for the Internet. They said fibre optic cables were designed to transmit and receive information, across large distances to multiple recipients, quicker and more effectively than copper cabling.  They believed fibre optic technology had been designed with that type of use in mind.

Assessment

1. Not upheld

The ASA note the claim "THE MOTHER OF ALL BROADBAND" and considered that the subsequent text qualified the meaning of the claim. We considered that readers were likely to understand that Virgin were highlighting that their broadband services were based on a technology that was superior to ADSL broadband. We noted the footnote clarified the factors upon which Virgin based the claim, low signal attenuation, low signal interference and high data-carrying capacity. We understood that the speed of an ADSL connection, which utilised the user's phone line to deliver their broadband service, was susceptible to interference and severe signal attenuation with distance from the telephone exchange. We also noted the effect was more significant for higher speed, for instance 24 Mbps, ADSL broadband services, which rendered ADSL services with greater headline speeds problematic.  We understood, by contrast, the broadband services delivered over fibre optic networks did not suffer from the limitation inherent to ADSL. In that regard, we noted BT, as the party responsible for the wholesale provision of ADSL services and the maintenance of the copper based telephone network in the UK, was basing its future network development around fibre optic technology, although we noted that development was more evolved that Virgins present network.

Because Virgin had made the basis of their claim clear and had shown the inherent advantages of fibre optic based networks, we concluded that the ad was unlikely to mislead.

On this point, we investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 19.1 (Comparisons) but did not find it in breach.

2. Not upheld

We noted the claim "IT'S FUTURE PROOF" appeared in the context of an ad that highlighted the differences between Virgin's fibre optic based broadband and ADSL services.  We considered that readers were likely to infer that Virgin's network was based on a more advanced technology than ADSL that had the potential to meet the challenges of developing faster broadband services. We noted the limitations inherent to ADSL broadband services and understood that they rendered problematic any attempts to develop and introduce broadband services with headline speeds in excess of 24 Mbps, currently the fastest commercially available ADSL service in the UK.  We understood that it was generally accepted that next generation networks would be provided through fibre optic technology. We therefore concluded that the ad was unlikely to mislead.

On this point, we investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 19.1 (Comparisons) but did not find it in breach.

3. Not upheld

We understood that fibre optic communications technology was developed as a means of transferring data over long distances at high bandwidths. Although Sky had highlighted that the Internet, as currently understood, came into being after the development of fibre optic communications technology, we noted Virgin's argument that high bandwidth, long distance data transfer was essentially what the Internet entailed. We also considered that the history of the development of both technologies could not be definitively separated as fibre optic technology was a means of data transfer and the Internet a particular type of data communication. Nevertheless, we considered that readers were likely to infer from the claim that fibre optic technology was well suited to carrying Internet data and that they were unlikely to interpret it literally. We considered that Virgin had given reasonable grounds to use the claim and concluded that it was unlikely to mislead.

On this point, we investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 19.1 (Comparisons) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)