July 24, 2017

Over the last year, the ASA has announced major changes to the way broadband pricing should be advertised. It has also published independent research into consumers’ understanding of broadband speed claims in ads.

The ASA says that it is “pleased” that broadband providers have been sticking to its new standards on pricing, which states that the cost of line rental and broadband should be combined so consumers are not misled by the total monthly cost of their packages. The ASA believes it is now much easier for people to see how much they will pay, when shopping around for a new broadband package.

Following the ASA’s research on broadband speed, the Committee of Advertising Practice is now considering how best to tighten standards on speed claims in ads with an announcement expected in the next few weeks.

The ASA says that it is “also aware of evolving concerns about the advertising of “fibre” broadband services.”

The term “fibre” is currently used in advertising to describe both part-fibre and full-fibre broadband services.

The UK Government’s recently published Digital Strategy made clear its commitment to invest in full-fibre broadband infrastructure, which is likely to make those services available to significantly more people, and also made clear its view that the term “fibre” should only be used to describe full-fibre broadband services. The ASA says that a recent debate in Parliament saw those MPs who participated also expressing their concerns about the use of the term “fibre” to describe part-fibre broadband services.

In response to that context and those concerns, the ASA set up a scoping a review of how it interprets the Advertising Codes when judging the use of the term “fibre” to describe broadband services. As part of its review the ASA has written to key stakeholders and received a range of responses from providers of part-fibre and full-fibre broadband services, consumer organisations and other regulators.

Having considered those submissions, the ASA’s view is that further consumer insights would help inform its judgement of whether consumers are likely to be materially misled by the term “fibre” when it is used in advertisements for part-fibre services. The ASA has therefore commissioned independent consumer research from Define Research and Insight Ltd to provide those insights.

The ASA intends to publish the research before the end of this year. To read the ASA’s press release, click here.