ASA somehow regurgitate 0.7% as 100% proof. This would be funny if it wasn't so misleading.
BT and some other ISPs advertise their "fibre" broadband, yet only a tiny proportion (0.7% according to BT's own evidence in their statement to the ASA) of the "fibre" broadband in the UK is delivered over 100% fibre-optic lines. In fact, ONLY FTTP is 100% fibre broadband. The rest utilises copper, or more rarely, copper and aluminium, as part of the link. Some people complained they were being mislead by this.
But the ASA think differently - they've just regurgitated a BT statement in a response to complainants that makes no sense at all and found the complaints against BT advertising "not upheld"
http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2014/11/British-Telecommunications-plc/SHP_ADJ_263509.aspx
Most of the broadband sold as "fibre" broadband in this country is NOT 100% fibre-optic.
For every FTTC install, which is what the majority of the connections that BT claim to be "fibre" are, it's delivered over copper or aluminium cables in the last leg to the house. Copper is NOT fibre. Except apparently, now it is.
Broadband signals have travelled over fibre-optic links for many years between the exchange and the ISP's centralised equipment, being called the "backhaul" in ISP terminology.
This means that ALL (as far as I know) broadband connections in the UK, long before the advent of "Superfast" broadband (and what on earth does THAT mean exactly?) have travelled over fibre links anyways. FTTC has merely brought the fibre CLOSER to the consumer, but not TO the consumer, with the exception of 0.7%, being FTTP (Fibre To The Premises)
So 0.7% get fibre all the way, yet 99.3% don't. Either way, say the ASA, it's ALL fibre, even if it's also copper - eh?
In common with several other friends and family members, I have subscribed to BT's Infinity "fibre" broadband, only to have it delivered over copper lines to my house. Complaining about to BT this I was told that "the lines to your house are not copper, they are actually fibre" - which is completely wrong - I believe they lied to me twice*, once at the advert stage and once when I rang up after the install to complain that it was actually copper.
(*though the ASA now say that copper lines are "fibre", because BT say so, so technically that's only one lie, if you see what I mean)
How on earth the ASA have come up with this decision is completely beyond me.
What next - British Leyland advertising all of their cars as "Superfast cars" then supplying a statement claiming that only 0.7% of these cars are "Superfast", but the claim is perfectly valid to all of their cars?
I can order 100% fibre broadband from a number of ISPs, yet BT has sold me "fibre" broadband that contains significant quantities of copper. Reading the BT statement in no way makes the science change.
As a nation, should we put up with 99.3% of households that can receive "superfast" broadband being sold "fibre" broadband being supplied with their broadband over copper instead?
Who cares if it's mainly over fibre - it was mainly over fibre even before their "fibre" broadband came along anyways.
According to the ASA, that's perfectly OK. What next - homeopathic "superfast" broadband?
The ASA then go on top claim that consumers are happy with what they have been advertised and supplied with. Since when did that amount to evidence of fact?
For example:
if a company sold me a ring claiming it was "gold" but turned out to be 0.7% gold, the fact that I am happy with it or not does not mean that I have not been mis-sold. I was misled by the advertising for the ring. I would be happy, but without knowing the problem, I would be ignorant of the issue.
Ask the millions of people mis-sold PPI - were they happy with what they were paying for? OF COURSE THEY WERE - THEY DIDN'T REALISE THEY'D BEEN DUPED UNTIL LATER. According to the legal basis behind ASA's ruling on "fibre" broadband, that means everyone mis-sold PPI would have no leg to stand on. THIS IS INSANE.
Potentially, 19.08 million premises could have been mis-sold "fibre" broadband, BT blurt out some statistics, and ASA say it's fine, so that's that.
Copper is Fibre, according to the ASA.
Perhaps the ASA would like to read some knitting patterns I'd like to send them? They may be of relevance to airline advert complains, or ads for dogfood.
Meanwhile, forgive me if I use the ASA adjudication to wipe my backside with - can't see any other use for it.
I'm going to write to my MP asking him to investigate this decision and all of the circumstances surrounding it. I suggest you do too.
