Bell seems to be in a bit of hot water due to some recent smartphone advertising claims about being the “fastest and largest network across North America”.
The Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) says Bell Mobility has gone against the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards by placing that statement in inserts, newspapers, billboards and radio campaigns last September.
None other than Rogers filed the complaint and even though they operate currently on 2 different networks (Bell uses EVDO and Rogers’ HSPA technology), they only stated that they have issues with the “speed portion”. Now it gets interesting when Bell, who is not at ASC member, decided not to participate or show any evidence when the hearing occurred. Probably not the best choice.
The ASC Panel’s opinion said “the general impression communicated by the claim was that the Bell wireless network was faster than its competitors in each of the countries that make up North America, including Canada.” Bell was advised on October 31, 2008 to withdraw or change the advertising statements… however, Bell graciously responded that the advertising complies with all Canadian legal requirements and decided to continue to use the advertising.
The ASC has taken the next steps to move the judgment forward to ensure they stop using the claim. Just another form of friendly competition in Canada…
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