UK's ad body cautions Wanadoo on broadband speed claims

The regulator weighed on a squabble over what constitutes "high-speed" broadband Net access by ordering Wanadoo to tone down its speed claims in ads.

Britain's Advertising Standards Authority weighed in this week on an industry squabble over what constitutes 'high-speed' broadband Internet access by ordering Wanadoo to tone down its speed claims in ads.

Wanadoo, owned by France Telecom, said on Friday it had agreed to pull the phrase 'full speed' from an ad for its 512 kilobit-per-second broadband service after the standards body decided it could mislead consumers into thinking it was the fastest service on the market.

Rival broadband providers BT Group and Telewest, which offer speedier one-megabit and two-megabit services, lodged the initial complaint with the ASA.

Consumers across Europe have been deluged with offers for speedy Internet services at varying connection speeds all under the catch-all phrase 'broadband'.

But as telecommunication companies invest heavy sums to upgrade their networks, what was considered 'fast' a year ago is now being lapped by even faster connection rates.

As is the case in most European countries, Britain's broadband market is brutally competitive, with scores of providers in a race to sign up higher-margin broadband customers by offering both cheap and super-fast services to capture both ends of the market.