"the fastest around," the advertising industry's self-regulatory body
said Thursday, in response to complaints from competitor Verizon
Communications Inc.
Cablevision should also stop saying it has "America's most advanced
fiber optic network," the National Advertising Division Council of
Better Business Bureaus said. Like other cable companies, Cablevision
uses optical fiber in its network but connects homes with coaxial
cable, not optical fiber.
Verizon's new FiOS service, which competes with Cablevision in New
York and New Jersey, does draw optical fiber all the way to homes.
Cable companies around the country have been claiming in ads that
their networks "are fiber" as a way to counter Verizon's marketing.
The NAD said Cablevision was free to say it has an "advanced hybrid
fiber optic network."
Cablevision said it would take the NAD's opinions into account for
future advertising. Spokesman Jim Maiella noted that the NAD supported
Cablevision's claim that its cable modems are up to five times faster
than Verizon's DSL service, which predates FiOS.
Cablevision's Optimum Online Internet service has a maximum download
speed of 30 megabits per second. FiOS can do 50 megabits per second.
Cablevision challenged Verizon's advertising claims for FiOS last
year. The NAD recommended, among other things, that Verizon stop
claiming that FiOS produced a TV picture that's "so much more bright."
The brightness of a TV picture depends on the settings of the TV, not
on the signal.
Verizon was also sued last week by the state of New Jersey, which said
the company charged consumers higher prices for FiOS than those quoted
in door-to-door solicitations and ads. Verizon has disputed the
allegations.
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