A panel of the National Advertising Review Board (NARB) has recommended Comcast discontinue use of the term “10G” when describing its Xfinity broadband network, arguing the phrase is misleading to consumers.
Comcast said it will modify its advertising to comply with the panel’s recommendations but stated it “strongly disagrees with NARB’s analysis and approach.”
NARB, which is part of advertising watchdog BBB National Programs, concluded the term 10G “expressly communicates” that Xfinity network users will experience “significantly faster speeds” than those available on 5G wireless networks.
“This express claim is not supported because the record does not contain any data comparing speeds experienced by Xfinity network users with speeds experienced by subscribers to 5G networks,” said NARB in a press release Wednesday.
While Comcast does offer a symmetrical 10-gig plan for its Xfinity Gigabit Pro fiber customers, the NARB panel said there isn’t enough usage data available for that service tier to “support the superior speed claim (or a 10 Gbps claim) for the Xfinity network as a whole.”
Thus, the panel urged Comcast to discontinue the term “10G” both in the name of the service itself as well as when used to describe the Xfinity network.
“The use of 10G in a manner that is not false or misleading and is consistent with the panel decision is not precluded by the panel recommendations,” stated NARB.
NARB’s decision comes after the National Advertising Division (NAD) in October recommended Comcast either discontinue or modify the 10G claim “to make clear that Comcast is implementing improvements that will enable it to achieve 10G.”
NAD, also part of BBB National Programs, reviewed Comcast’s usage of the term 10G following a complaint from Verizon. Comcast proceeded to appeal NAD’s decision.
Cable trade groups introduced the 10G term in 2019, referring to network upgrades operators are undertaking to reach 10 Gbps download speeds and upload speeds of up to 6 Gbps (also known as DOCSIS 4.0).
NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, published a blog post this week touting milestones cable companies have made in upgrading their network. Both Comcast and Mediacom, for instance, launched their first DOCSIS 4.0 markets at the end of 2023.
An NCTA spokesperson declined to comment on the NARB ruling but said “we have already seen many milestones on the 10G journey including successful lab tests, field trials and marketplace deployments which show how the industry is delivering on its promise.”
As for the wireless industry’s perspective, Viet Nguyen, VP of public relations and technology at 5G Americas, told Fierce, “we are pleased there are processes that NARB uses to address these types of matters.”
“Overall, it's important for the communications industry to help educate consumers and businesses to better understand their internet connectivity service capabilities,” he said.