Comcast Says It Will Stop Using Misleading ‘Xfinity 10G Network’ Branding
Last updated March 1, 2024
In response to recommendations from an industry watchdog group, Comcast has reluctantly agreed to change the way it describes its high-speed-internet service.
Since 2023, Comcast has used the term “10G” in advertising for its broadband service, which it also calls a “game-changing network” that’s “faster and more reliable every day.”
In October 2023, Checkbook warned that Comcast’s use of “10G” was “marketing mumbo jumbo” that might confuse consumers who associate the term “G” with cell phone technology. For mobile networks, “G” stands for “generation.” The much-hyped 5G service (fifth-generation cellular technology), now replacing old 4G (fourth-generation networks), is the latest mobile broadband standard. There is no 10G cellular standard, and there won’t be for decades.
Internet speeds are measured in gigabits per second or Gbps. Comcast’s Xfinity Gigabit Pro fiber plan ($300 a month), which requires the customer to pay extra for the installation of a fiber line, can reach speeds of 10 Gbps, but most other Comcast customers have significantly slower 1.2 Gbps or 2 Gbps service.
In October, the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs determined Comcast “did not provide a reasonable basis for its 10G claims” and recommended Comcast discontinue or qualify those 10G claims to make it clear that the company was implementing improvements that would enable it to achieve 10G in the future.
Rather than change its marketing, Comcast appealed the decision to the BBB’s National Advertising Review Board (NARB). In late January, it upheld the recommendation that Comcast “discontinue use of the term 10G” when referring to its network and when 10G “is used deceptively to describe the Xfinity Network.”
In a news release announcing the decision, the NARB concluded that the term “10G expressly communicates at a minimum that users of the Xfinity network will experience significantly faster speeds” than are available on 5G wireless networks. “This express claim is not supported because the record does not contain any data comparing speeds experienced by Xfinity network users with speeds experienced by subscribers to 5G networks.”
The NARB said Comcast can still use 10G “in a manner that is not false or misleading.” Following the decision, Comcast said it will no longer brand its broadband network as “10G,” although the company said it will not stop using the term altogether.
Comcast told the NARB that it “strongly disagrees” with the decision, but will comply with the recommendations. The company said it “reserves the right to use the term ‘10G’ (or ‘Xfinity 10G’) in a manner that does not misleadingly describe the Xfinity network itself.”
Consumer advocates, who’ve complained for months that the 10G marketing campaign was misleading, say they feel vindicated by the NARB’s decision.
“I'm glad they ruled against the company,” said Edgar Dworsky, founder and publisher of ConsumerWorld.org. “I hope Comcast does not use the term 10G in the future in ways that can confuse consumers into thinking they’re getting better service than Comcast can provide.”
Contributing editor Herb Weisbaum (“The ConsumerMan”) is an Emmy award-winning broadcaster and one of America's top consumer experts. He has been protecting consumers for more than 40 years, having covered the consumer beat for CBS News, The Today Show, and NBCNews.com. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and at ConsumerMan.com.