BBB Finds Some Verizon Ad Claims Misleading, but Not on Satellite Coverage
The Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division found Wednesday that some Verizon advertising claims about its satellite coverage weren’t misleading, but the phrase “largest network” in other ads was “ambiguous.” NAD examined the ads at the urging of T-Mobile and concluded that Verizon “has provided a reasonable basis for the claims ‘VERIZON Satellite Powered’ and ‘Verizon is conquering dead zones with satellite.’” But NAD recommended that in the future, "Verizon ensures that any accompanying disclosures describing the availability of the satellite texting features be clear and conspicuous.”
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T-Mobile challenged Verizon’s “America’s largest network” claim that included the disclosure, “‘Largest network’ based on total postpaid phone connections publicly reported by Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T” in Q3, “arguing that in the telecom industry, ‘largest network’ typically refers to geographic coverage or population reach, not subscriber numbers,” NAD said.
“NAD found the phrase ‘largest network’ to be ambiguous, potentially conveying different messages to consumers. NAD also determined that the term ‘postpaid phone connections’ may not clearly communicate that it refers to Verizon subscribers.” Verizon said it will comply with NAD’s recommendations.