Watchdog slaps down Three's claims to be building the UK's 'fastest 5G network' – again
(2021/07/21)
- Reference: 1626867012
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/07/21/threes_asa_fastest_5g/
- Source link:
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has warned mobile network Three not to repeat claims that it is "building the UK's fastest 5G network" and that its network represents "real 5G" – after pulling the company up on the same claims a year ago.
A complaint was brought by rival network Vodafone UK against Hutchison 3G UK, which trades as Three, after the company took umbrage at TV ad claims that Three was creating Britain's speediest next generation network and that punters should "join the future on Three, it's real 5G."
Vodafone argued against the claims, stating they were misleading and could not be substantiated – while Three made technical arguments in an apparent effort to blind the ASA with science.
[1]
In its response to the ASA's investigation, Three claimed that it was indeed building the UK's fastest 5G network thanks to its "superior 5G spectrum holdings" of [2]100MHz contiguous radio-frequency spectrum , its position as the only network to operate a "cloud core" which boosts throughput "because cloud-based networks were more efficient and reliable than legacy solutions," and that it was able to offer pure-5G data sessions where competitors may rely on mixing 4G and 5G.
[3]
[4]
Clearcast, the advertising provider which ran Three's adverts, said it had discussed potential issues with the company – and was the reason why the advertising was accompanied by a small on-screen message, not read aloud, warning that the network offers "limited coverage."
The ASA, after conferring with communications regulator Ofcom, [5]disagreed with Three's arguments . "[Ofcom] said that while all other things being equal Three might be able to offer higher peak speeds than other operators, they would be achievable only in certain ideal conditions and would rarely be experienced by consumers everywhere in a mature 5G network."
[6]Advert for coronavirus 'destroying' air 'purifier' exterminated by UK watchdog
[7]Glastonbury hippy shop Hemp in Avalon rapped for spouting 'plandemic' pseudoscience
[8]Ad banned for suggesting London black cabs have properties that prevent the spread of coronavirus
[9]UK advertising watchdog raps ruler on O2's hand over misleading ads for iPad and Surface Pro deals
It's not the first time the ASA has rapped Three for substantially the same claims. A ruling from [10]March 2020 , related to advertising carried in the national press and over social media in August the year before, told the company not to repeat near-identical advertising which claimed that "if it's not Three, it's not real 5G" and that the company was "building the UK’s fastest 5G network."
Sadly for Three's competitors in the market, the ASA is a self-regulating organisation founded by the advertising industry itself – a paper tiger with no ability to set or enforce legislation nor to issue fines or other sanctions, bar its Code of Advertising Practice (CAP) Compliance Team suggesting that advertisers not carry adverts the organisation has ruled against.
[11]
Although the ASA found against Three in its ruling last year, it simply told the company "the ads must not appear again" and that it needed to "ensure future ads did not mislead" – requests Three clearly failed to take to heart.
"We told Hutchinson 3G UK Ltd t/a Three to ensure future ads did not mislead," the ASA announced in its latest ruling against the company, "for example, by making claims which suggested that the 5G service offered by competitors would not be as fast as theirs without sufficient evidence, or implying that their competitors did not offer 'real' 5G."
This can be compared with the very similar demand from the ASA's March 2020 ruling: "We told Hutchison 3G UK Ltd t/a Three to ensure future ads did not mislead by, for example, using wording which suggested that the service offered by competitors did not provide the significantly faster speeds that 5G was expected to provide."
[12]
Neither the ASA, Three, nor Vodafone responded to requests for further comment in time for publication. ®
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YPhEnK@H0ab6ydo@lE6b6AAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/28/ofcom_5g_auction_finally_ends/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YPhEnK@H0ab6ydo@lE6b6AAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[5] https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/hutchison-3g-uk-ltd-a20-1066834-hutchison-3g-uk-ltd.html
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/24/asa_ruling_air_purifier/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/02/hemp_in_avalon_asa_ruling/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/25/black_cab_covid_ad/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/08/uk_advertising_watchdog_raps_ruler/
[10] https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/hutchison-3g-uk-ltd-g19-1030062-hutchison-3g-uk-ltd.html
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YPhEnK@H0ab6ydo@lE6b6AAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
A complaint was brought by rival network Vodafone UK against Hutchison 3G UK, which trades as Three, after the company took umbrage at TV ad claims that Three was creating Britain's speediest next generation network and that punters should "join the future on Three, it's real 5G."
Vodafone argued against the claims, stating they were misleading and could not be substantiated – while Three made technical arguments in an apparent effort to blind the ASA with science.
[1]
In its response to the ASA's investigation, Three claimed that it was indeed building the UK's fastest 5G network thanks to its "superior 5G spectrum holdings" of [2]100MHz contiguous radio-frequency spectrum , its position as the only network to operate a "cloud core" which boosts throughput "because cloud-based networks were more efficient and reliable than legacy solutions," and that it was able to offer pure-5G data sessions where competitors may rely on mixing 4G and 5G.
[3]
[4]
Clearcast, the advertising provider which ran Three's adverts, said it had discussed potential issues with the company – and was the reason why the advertising was accompanied by a small on-screen message, not read aloud, warning that the network offers "limited coverage."
The ASA, after conferring with communications regulator Ofcom, [5]disagreed with Three's arguments . "[Ofcom] said that while all other things being equal Three might be able to offer higher peak speeds than other operators, they would be achievable only in certain ideal conditions and would rarely be experienced by consumers everywhere in a mature 5G network."
[6]Advert for coronavirus 'destroying' air 'purifier' exterminated by UK watchdog
[7]Glastonbury hippy shop Hemp in Avalon rapped for spouting 'plandemic' pseudoscience
[8]Ad banned for suggesting London black cabs have properties that prevent the spread of coronavirus
[9]UK advertising watchdog raps ruler on O2's hand over misleading ads for iPad and Surface Pro deals
It's not the first time the ASA has rapped Three for substantially the same claims. A ruling from [10]March 2020 , related to advertising carried in the national press and over social media in August the year before, told the company not to repeat near-identical advertising which claimed that "if it's not Three, it's not real 5G" and that the company was "building the UK’s fastest 5G network."
Sadly for Three's competitors in the market, the ASA is a self-regulating organisation founded by the advertising industry itself – a paper tiger with no ability to set or enforce legislation nor to issue fines or other sanctions, bar its Code of Advertising Practice (CAP) Compliance Team suggesting that advertisers not carry adverts the organisation has ruled against.
[11]
Although the ASA found against Three in its ruling last year, it simply told the company "the ads must not appear again" and that it needed to "ensure future ads did not mislead" – requests Three clearly failed to take to heart.
"We told Hutchinson 3G UK Ltd t/a Three to ensure future ads did not mislead," the ASA announced in its latest ruling against the company, "for example, by making claims which suggested that the 5G service offered by competitors would not be as fast as theirs without sufficient evidence, or implying that their competitors did not offer 'real' 5G."
This can be compared with the very similar demand from the ASA's March 2020 ruling: "We told Hutchison 3G UK Ltd t/a Three to ensure future ads did not mislead by, for example, using wording which suggested that the service offered by competitors did not provide the significantly faster speeds that 5G was expected to provide."
[12]
Neither the ASA, Three, nor Vodafone responded to requests for further comment in time for publication. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YPhEnK@H0ab6ydo@lE6b6AAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/28/ofcom_5g_auction_finally_ends/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YPhEnK@H0ab6ydo@lE6b6AAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YPhEnK@H0ab6ydo@lE6b6AAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/hutchison-3g-uk-ltd-a20-1066834-hutchison-3g-uk-ltd.html
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/24/asa_ruling_air_purifier/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/02/hemp_in_avalon_asa_ruling/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/25/black_cab_covid_ad/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/08/uk_advertising_watchdog_raps_ruler/
[10] https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/hutchison-3g-uk-ltd-g19-1030062-hutchison-3g-uk-ltd.html
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YPhEnK@H0ab6ydo@lE6b6AAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YPhEnK@H0ab6ydo@lE6b6AAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Dear Goverment.
IGotOut
Please allow ASA to fine companies 10% of global turnover for misleading adverts. Failure to pay fine results in 1 year in prison for Marketing Directors, for both the company asking for the advert AND, if a 3rd party is involved, the director of the advertising company.
That should very quickly stop 90% of current adverts dead.
Re: Dear Goverment.
elsergiovolador
What if company installs a patsy as a director? Year holiday at HM resort and a nice bonus on leaving, would be just another cost of doing business.
I think we should start fining shareholders.
Re: Dear Goverment.
Fazal Majid
You mean the same ASA that allows BT OpenReach and its sock puppet resellers to advertise its shitty VDSL as “fibre” and in fact shielded them from a legal challenge by a real fibre operator? They are fully captured, all right.
The form
elsergiovolador
I wonder if their form, where you can report lack of reception actually submits data anywhere...
Cloud Core bollocks
anthonyhegedus
What's a 'cloud core'? Is this a core network that's in a datacentre connected to the internet? What utter nonsense these companies spout. I wouldn't touch three with a 10-foot bargepole.
Anonymous Coward
The ASA is that outfit that insists that all TV ads are based on a mainly BAME family. They are not an organisation that is due any respect.
If Three's 4G network is anything to go by....
Jason Hindle
They've no chance. They've relegated themselves to the bargain basement, all you can slurp crowd and just don't have the capacity as it is (either cellular or backbone).
Having had complaints refused by ASA
Anonymous Coward
When I pointed how wrong the science the adverts were depicting, I can safely say the ASA don't give a funk about scientific accuracy.
claims that it is "building the UK's fastest 5G network"
and the game of whack-a-mole with ASA continues. The only difference here is that both parties know EXACTLY it's a game, and that they both benefit from it.
btw, whose turn is it now to run adverts that 'must not be shown again', Vodafone? BT? There must be a rota on this, agreed between ASA and all players.