Virgin Media Ltd 160 Great Portland Street London W1W 5QA Number of complaints: 22

Date: 6 February 2008 Media: Radio, Poster, National press Sector: Computers and telecommunications

Ad
a. A radio ad for Virgin Media Broadband. The voice-over said "... it's not just any old broadband, it's unlimited super duper fast fibre-optic cable broadband. Or in other words, broadband that doesn't use copper wire like most providers and doesn't slow down no matter how far you live from the telephone exchange". Another voice-over said "Virgin Broadband ... subject to availability ... acceptable use policy ... new broadband customers only".

b. An ad in the national press for Virgin Media Broadband was headed "Truth, Lies and Broadband". It stated "There are lots of companies out there selling 'high speed' broadband, claiming to be the fastest and cheapest in the land. The truth is this ... right now, in terms of broadband, there are two types of homes in the UK. Half of us can get cable broadband. This is delivered via a fibre optic cable - meaning it is officially the fastest and the best performing broadband available ... The other half of the country can get a standard connection - also known as ADSL (which stands for something tedious). Most broadband companies, like BT, Tiscali, Sky, TalkTalk and so on, only offer this. We offer it too and are quite proud of ours (in fact it's won awards). The thing is, ADSL uses your phone line so it slows down the further you live from the telephone exchange. This means you might not be getting the speed you pay for ... A visit to areyouuptospeed.com will tell you which type of home you live in, and what speed you could be getting."

c. A poster for Virgin Media Broadband was headed "Truth, Lies and Broadband". It stated "There are lots of companies out there selling 'high speed' broadband, claiming to be the fastest and cheapest in the land. The truth is this ... right now, in terms of broadband, there are two types of household in the UK. Half of us can access cable broadband. This is delivered via a fibre optic cable - meaning it is officially the fastest and most reliable available ... The other half of the country can get a standard connection - also known as ADSL (which stands for something tedious). Most companies, like BT, AOL, Tiscali, Sky, TalkTalk and so on, only offer this. We provide an award-winning version for people who can't get cable. ADSL uses your phone line so it slows down the further you live from the telephone exchange. This means you might not be getting the speed you've paid for ... A visit to areyouuptospeed.com will tell you which type of home you live in, and what connection speed you could be getting".

Issue
Twelve listeners and British Sky Broadcasting Ltd (Sky) challenged whether the radio ad was misleading because:

1. they believed that the connection from the street cabinet into the home did use copper wire.

2. Twelve listeners believed the use of a copper-coated wire (a copper wire connection) into the home could cause speed depreciation.

3. Sky challenged whether the ad gave the misleading impression that cable broadband speeds would never slow down, and that Virgin Media customers would always be able to achieve consistent broadband speeds.

4. Sky also challenged whether the statement "subject to availability" implied that all Virgin media customers, subject to availability, would get cable broadband as opposed to Virgin Media ADSL broadband.

Five readers and TalkTalk Telecom Ltd (TalkTalk) objected that the press ad was misleading because:

5. they believed that the connection from the street cabinet into the home did not use fibre optic cable, but used copper wire instead; and

6. the use of a copper wire connection into the home could cause speed depreciation.

7. TalkTalk and Sky objected that the claim, "the other half of the country get a standard connection ... Most broadband companies, like ... Sky, TalkTalk and so on, only offer this", implied that both Sky and TalkTalk had a UK ADSL coverage of around 50%, when they believed about 98% of the country could get an ADSL broadband connection.

8. TalkTalk challenged whether the claim "fastest and best performing broadband" was misleading because it compared ADSL with a 10 Mb cable connection, while the offer described in the small print was for Virgin's 2 Mb cable service. TalkTalk contended that their 8 Mb ADSL service was faster than Virgin's 2 Mb cable service.

9. TalkTalk complained that the ad was denigratory because it implied that Virgin Media was the only broadband company to tell the truth, and that other broadband companies did not inform their customers what broadband speed was available to them at a particular price.

10. One complainant objected that the poster was misleading because they believed that the delivery of broadband from the street into the home used metal co-axial cable and not fibre-optic cable.

The CAP Code:	7.1;18.1;18.2;20.1
BCAP Radio Advertising Code:	2 - 3

Response
1. & 5. Virgin Media Ltd (Virgin) said the ads were intended to highlight that cable broadband was different from ADSL broadband. Virgin explained that they did not use copper wire to deliver broadband to their customers, but used aluminium or steel wire with a copper coating instead. They said the copper coating was used to shield their signals from interference and not to transmit the signals. Virgin explained that their backbone network was a "hybrid fibre co-axial" network, which used fibre-optic cables all the way to within approximately 500 metres of their customers' homes. They said from there it passed over high quality copper-coated aluminium co-axial cables to within 150 metres of the home. They said the final connection to the customer was made from the street cabinet over high quality copper-coated steel co-axial cables. They explained that co-axial cable was used as a high-frequency transmission line to carry a high-frequency or broadband signal.  

The Radio Advertising Clearance Centre (RACC) said that, although co-axial cable was used to deliver cable broadband from the street box into the home, they considered that was a negligible proportion of the overall fibre-optic connection. They said they were unaware of any internet providers who offered fibre-optic cabling from the street into the home.

2, 3. & 6. Virgin said that, while distance had a noticeable effect on customer speeds, that was not an issue for cable broadband. They said they were not limited by distance because they distributed active signal amplifiers throughout their network to ensure that the necessary signal level was delivered to the customer. They said the design of the network ensured that all customers received sufficient signal level to operate their cable broadband service at its maximum advertised speed, and that all customers would receive approximately the same signal level regardless of where they lived. Virgin submitted documentation that detailed the technical specification of the modems they supplied to their cable broadband customers. They said the test results contained in those documents showed that their modems did not cause speed depreciation on the cable broadband network.

4. Virgin said the phrase "subject to availability" was an accepted caveat used by all UK broadband providers in their radio advertising. They argued that their press and outdoor ads for cable broadband expanded the availability principle with phrases such as "services available in Virgin Media cabled streets only". They argued that in the context of a campaign that had a high press and outdoor presence, the "subject to availability" wording in the contemporaneous radio ad would be recognised by listeners as applying to cabled areas.

The RACC said it was clear that the ad was about the benefits of using fibre-optic cabling over copper wire cabling, and they believed the "subject to availability" claim would be understood in relation to the availability of that cabling.

7. Virgin said the aim of the ad was to highlight the fact that Virgin provided cable to around half the UK. They argued that the ad clearly stated that Virgin Media could provide cable service to 50% of the country and the other 50% could received their ADSL service. They said the claim "Most broadband companies, like BT, Tiscali, Sky, TalkTalk and so on, only offer this" referred to ADSL and not the coverage of each provider. Virgin said the ad explained to customers the different broadband services available, and did not state or imply the coverage of other providers.

8. Virgin argued that the small print clearly stated that the claim "fastest and best performing" referred to their 10 Mb product. They said this claim was based on data provided by Epitiro, an independent authority on the performance of internet providers. Virgin pointed out that the body copy stated "Virgin Media provides cable broadband from only £10 a month ... " and that this was backed up in the small print, which said "Up to 2Mb broadband at £10 a month ... ". Virgin said the ad detailed how much their broadband service started from, and did not seek to compare their 2 Mb service with ADSL.

9. Virgin said the aim of the 'Truth, Lies and Broadband' campaign was to direct customers to visit their website, which provided information on speed, restrictions and the differences between cable and ADSL. Virgin said the campaign did not denigrate other broadband providers. They argued that, because Virgin Media also provided an ADSL service, any implication that ADSL providers did not tell the truth would negatively impact public confidence in their own ADSL advertising.

10. Virgin pointed to the information submitted in points 1 and 5. They said through the use of fibre optics, high quality shielded co-axial cables and amplifiers, the Virgin Media network ensured that all customers received full service speeds.

Assessment
1. & 5. Not upheld
The ASA noted Virgin's argument that the aim of the ads was to highlight the technological differences between cable broadband and ADSL broadband. We also noted that cable broadband used a combination of fibre-optic and co-axial cable to deliver broadband into the home. We acknowledged that Virgin's co-axial cables were made of either aluminium or steel and had a copper coating. However, we understood the copper element of the co-axial cable had a different structure, and served a different function, to the twisted pairs of copper wires used in a standard ADSL connection. We considered that most consumers would understand the term 'copper wire', in the context of these ads, to refer to the copper wires of an ADSL connection. Because we considered that the ads were making a comparison between the different cable and ADSL network technologies, and because the co-axial section of the cable network was a small proportion of the overall fibre-optic connection, we concluded that the claims "doesn't use copper wire" in the radio ad, and "delivered via a fibre optic cable" in the press ad, were unlikely to mislead.

On this point we investigated the radio ad (a) under CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code section 2 rule 3 (Misleadingness) but did not find it in breach.

On this point we investigated the press ad (b) under CAP Code clause 7.1 (Truthfulness) but did not find it in breach.

2. & 6. Not upheld
We noted, as in point 1 & 5 above, that the copper element of a co-axial cable had a different structure and served a different function to the twisted copper-wires of an ADSL connection. We understood that, because of that, co-axial cable was less susceptible to interference and was able to carry more data than an ADSL connection. We also understood that the copper elements used in a co-axial cable had a negligible effect on the speed depreciation of the cable connection. Because of that we concluded that the radio and the press ad were unlikely to mislead in that respect.

On this point we investigated the radio ad (a) under CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code section 2 rule 3 (Misleadingness) but did not find it in breach.

On this point we investigated the press ad (b) under CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness) but did not find it in breach.

3. Not upheld
We understood that the speed of an ADSL connection, which used a customer's phone line, could be affected by both line length and distance from the telephone exchange. We also understood that cable broadband speeds were not affected in those ways, but that the potential limiting factors for cable broadband speeds was high user demand and network congestion. We noted that Virgin's cable network used traffic engineering to try and ensure that all users received approximately the same level of service. We also noted that the modem specification document submitted by Virgin demonstrated that their modems did not cause speed depreciation on their cable broadband network. We understood that, as part of their traffic management system, small numbers of cable customers were located at a particular street connection, compared to large numbers of customers connected to an ADSL street box.

Virgin supplied independent data showing average download speeds during peak time. The averages showed that customers in peak time, when speeds were expected to be at their slowest because of high user demand, still experienced speeds at very nearly the maximum. The data also showed that a small number of customers, who had reached the limits permitted by the acceptable usage policy, would experience noticeably slower speeds at peak times. We did not agree with Sky's interpretation that the ad implied cable broadband speeds would never slow down and that Virgin Media customers would always achieve consistent broadband speeds. We considered instead that the claim "broadband that ... doesn't slow down no matter how far you live from the telephone exchange" referred to the particular type of speed depreciation caused by the distance between the telephone exchange and the home, which could be experienced by ADSL customers. Because we considered that Virgin cable broadband was being compared with that specific aspect of an ADSL connection, and because Virgin cable broadband was not susceptible to the same kind of speed depreciation as an ADSL connection, we concluded that on this point the ad was unlikely to mislead.

On this point we investigated the radio ad (a) under CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code section 2 rule 3 (Misleadingness) but did not find it in breach.

4. Not upheld
We recognised that the statement "subject to availability" was a standard phrase used in broadband advertising. We noted Virgin's argument that the radio ad was part of a high-profile press and poster campaign, which expanded the availability principle. We also noted the RACC's point that the ad was clearly about the advantages of fibre-optic cabling over copper wire. We considered that in this context the term "subject to availability" would be understood by consumers to relate to the availability of cable broadband where they lived, and concluded that the ad was unlikely to mislead.

On this point we investigated the radio ad (a) under CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code section 2 rule 3 (Misleadingness) but did not find it in breach.

7. Not upheld
We noted Virgin's argument that the ad stated that 50% of the country could get their cable service, and that the other 50% could get their ADSL service. We also noted their argument that the ad named BT, Tiscali, Sky and TalkTalk as providers of ADSL, and not in terms of the coverage of their services. Whilst we recognised that it was sometimes unclear in the ad whether it was Virgin's own ADSL service or ADSL in general that was being referred to, we did not consider that the ad implied that the ADSL services offered by Sky and TalkTalk were available to only 50% of the country. Rather, we considered that the emphasis of the ad was that Virgin's cable broadband service was currently available to half of the country, and that those not covered by cable broadband would be able to get an ADSL connection instead. We considered that this emphasis was reinforced by the fact that the ad directed customers to a website or phone number where they could check the type and availability of Virgin's broadband services in their area. We therefore concluded that on this point the ad was unlikely to mislead.

On this point we investigated the press ad (b) under CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 18.1 and 18.2 (Comparisons with identified competitors) but did not find it in breach.

8. Not upheld
We noted that the claim "fastest and best performing broadband available" was qualified in the ad's small print as "Fastest and best performing claim based on Epitiro data for 01/02/07 to 30/04/07 (up to 10 Mb cable broadband versus ADSL Max re key internet performance metrics ...)". We understood that ADSL Max was a term used by providers to designate their high speed 8 Mb ADSL broadband services. We considered that the basis of the comparison with Virgin's 10 Mb cable broadband was clear, and was supported by independent data from Epitiro. We noted Virgin's argument that the ad's claim "from only £10 a month" detailed how much their broadband services started from, and we considered that this was supported by the footnoted statement  "Up to 2 Mb broadband at £10 a month ...". Because the basis of both claims was made clear in the small print, and because we considered that those two claims were distinct from each other, we concluded that the ad was unlikely to mislead.

On this point we investigated the press ad (b) under CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 18.1 and 18.2 (Comparisons with identified competitors) but did not find it in breach.

9. Not upheld
We noted Virgin's argument that the aim of the ad was to direct consumers to Virgin's website. We also noted their point that any suggestion that ADSL providers did not tell the truth could impact on public perceptions of their own ADSL service. We acknowledged that the ad stated "Most broadband companies wouldn't tell you that". However, we considered that this did not imply that all other broadband companies were deceitful or that Virgin Media was the only one to tell the truth. Because of that we concluded that the ad did not denigrate competitors.

On this point we investigated the press ad (b) under CAP Code clause 20.1 (Denigration) but did not find it in breach.

10. Not upheld
We understood that co-axial cable was used to make the final connection from the street cabinet into the home. However, we also understood that this was a small proportion of the overall network that used fibre-optic cable. We concluded that the claim "this is delivered via a fibre optic cable" was unlikely to mislead.

On this point we investigated the poster (c) under CAP Code clause 7.1 (Truthfulness) but did not find it in breach.

Action
No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)