National Advertising Division Recommends T-Mobile Home Internet Commercial be Discontinued or Modified to Avoid Implied Message of Fast 5G Speeds

New York, NY – April 25, 2023 – In a Fast-Track SWIFT challenge brought by Charter Communications, Inc., the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs recommended that T-Mobile discontinue or modify the challenged commercial to avoid conveying the implied message that all T-Mobile Home Internet (T-HINT) users will receive fast 5G speeds.

Fast-Track SWIFT is an expedited challenge process designed for single-issue advertising cases brought to NAD. NAD determined that the Charter challenge was appropriate for Fast-Track SWIFT because it presented the single issue as to whether T-Mobile’s claim that T-HINT provides the fastest 5G speeds available is supported. 

T-HINT operates on the same wireless network that T-Mobile smartphones run on, and thus does not use a wired infrastructure to deliver internet. Customers are provided a gateway device that acts as a router and modem which converts T-Mobile’s signal to WiFi and provides a WiFi signal to devices in the home.

After considering the messages reasonably conveyed by the challenged commercial, NAD determined that, given the context which offers T-HINT as an alternative to fixed wired internet, includes audio that states “don’t worry ‘bout speed” along with a visual of a speedometer that dings when it reaches the highest 5G level of speed, the commercial conveys a message that all T-HINT customers will receive fast 5G wireless speeds.

NAD concluded that the commercial communicates a broad unqualified performance claim that informs consumers that T-HINT provides fast 5G speeds to all of its customers. NAD found that T-Mobile’s evidence does not support that claim and recommended that T-Mobile discontinue or modify the commercial to avoid conveying this implied message. 

In its advertiser statement, T-Mobile stated that it “will comply with NAD’s recommendations, but strongly disagrees with NAD’s determination that the challenged commercial communicates an unsubstantiated message.” 

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive.

 

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