6G mobile technology might still be a decade away, but one Lancashire-based broadband provider 6G Internet (aka 6Gi) has falsely claimed to have it in the here and now.
That is according to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which today ruled that the name '6G Internet’ was likely to mislead in the context of its presentation in the group’s advertising material.
“The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told 6G Internet Ltd not to imply a sixth-generation mobile network existed and was able to be used by consumers,” stated the ASA.
Though 6Gi does not explicitly advertise non-existent 6G wireless technology on its website, the company provides a potentially misleadingly named router called Wi-Fi 6.
Under a section called ‘Wi-Fi 6 Router Benefits’, the website stated that WiFi 6 provides “Speeds up to 40% faster than Wi-Fi 5”.
A marketing leaflet stated: “6Ginternet: Full fibre speed broadband only £9.99 per month. 100Mbps for the first 6 months then £26.99 per month (based on a 24-month contract).”
The ASA concluded that customers may believe 6Gi offered a "more advanced" solution that operated differently from other options on the market.
6Gi stated that it had not received complaints from consumers, Ofcom, DCMS, or the ASA in the past about confusion between the 6G Internet brand name and the services provided, claiming that “6G” always referred to home internet and not to the different generations of mobile technology.
However, the ASA determined that “consumers would have a limited understanding of broadband technology, and how it worked, and would likely understand that they would get a broadband connection using an innovative 6G mobile internet technology”.