Verizon gets wrist slap for misleading 5G claims

The National Advertising Division (NAD) has condemned Verizon for misleading consumers over the quality of its 5G network across the country.

And guess who the complaint was filed by… AT&T.

“The National Advertising Division determined that, in the context of two challenged television commercials touting Verizon’s rollout of 5G service in sports venues, the claim that ‘Verizon is building the most powerful 5G experience for America’ reasonably communicates a message about the consumer experience of using 5G mobile service that was not supported by the evidence in the record,” the NAD statement declares.

While these organisations seemingly specialise in inaccessible language, the message is that Verizon was not fairly representing its network in adverts broadcast at sporting venues.

Verizon is building 5G networks in sporting venues across the US, though the NAD believes the way the adverts have been created suggests a similar experience would be offered outside the venues themselves. This is not supported by any evidence.

Although this would be deemed a win for AT&T, let’s not offer too much praise; 5G networks in the US are pretty poor as it stands.

The telcos are of course facing a difficult challenge in delivering the desired 5G experience, the US is a monstrously large country after all, but the available spectrum is also not helping matters. Despite the telcos preaching about the benefits of mmWave spectrum to underpin 5G networks, the telcos are performing woefully.

T-Mobile has been blasted for the speeds which have been delivered over the 600 MHz spectrum it has been offering, while AT&T and Verizon has been failing at coverage. In a recent Rootmetrics gaming study in Los Angeles, none met the minimum requirements for latency.

The US might be the champion when it comes to numerous segments of the digital economy, but it is failing to live up to its own proclamations in the delivery of 5G. If this is a temperature test of how the US is getting on in the 5G race, it is the equivalent of Britney Spears in the 100 metres.

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