Court Tells Time Warner to Halt the "Fiber Optic" Talk
Court Tells Time Warner to Halt the "Fiber Optic" Talk
Posted 02/10/2011 at 10:03am
| by Paul Lilly
15
Comments
Print
Verizon, which is sitting on top of the world today, didn't take kindly to Time Warner's advertising campaign pitching an "advanced fiber optic network." The National Advertising Review Board wasn't buying it either and has ordered Time Warner to stop referring to its network as "fiber optic," leaving Verizon as the sole major fiber provider to the home, Arstechnica reports. But if Time Warner's network isn't fiber optic, what is it?
In reality, much of Time Warner's network is fiber optic, particularly on the backend. But according to Arstechnica, the last mile service is made up of coaxial, and that's where Time Warner runs into trouble with its advertising campaign. In the end, the NARB's panel ruled that fiber to the node is different than Verizon's fiber to the home.
"The record in this case indicates that ‘last mile’ architecture is relevant to a network’s performance capabilities," the panel stated. "Prior NAD (National Advertising Division of Better Business Bureaus) cases recognized differences between 'Fiber to the home' networks and 'Fiber to the node' networks, and the evidence in the present case shows those differences continue to exist."
It's mostly a war of words. Verizon didn't like that Time Warner's ads made it sound like it too was offering a full fiber optic experience, with Time Warning saying its "fiber-optic network delivers speeds up to 15Mbps for a dramatically faster online experience," as well as saying its "advanced fiber optic network delivers the future to you, for less."
More like this
15
Comments
Comments are closed on this article
hoseman18
February 10, 2011 at 7:43pm
I live in Washington and got Verizon FIOS. They screwed up my telephone, taking out the copper and putting in FIOS (with battery backup that I have to replace on my own dime roughly once a year ($30) even after I told salesman, technician, and service manager I wanted the copper left in, just internet and TV on FIOS...and they agreed.
Was happy about the speeds for the most part, but have to get on their case every 3 months or they back-end my account and it slows to a crawl.
Verizon, sold to Frontier, and the prices shot up, speeds went down (unless I pay extra), and I get lag now that I never got before. Wifey wants to go back to Comcast. At this point, we may.
As to the fiber optic network, Verizon is selling off those areas it has seeded (see above) to make up the losses on the fiber it has already laid. To me, this is just the pot calling the kettle black.
Yusonice
February 10, 2011 at 4:30pm
25mbps = fiber optic? Thats bs. 25mbps is the maximum speed for ADSL. In sg, cable is 100mbps and FO is 50-100mbps. Cable is a good alternative to homes without the fiber installed yet.
ItsNeverEnoughPower
February 10, 2011 at 4:03pm
I moved from Albany, NY to Pensacola Fl and I was dreading switching to another cable company. I was hoping to get something better then Time Warner. What I got was a better company I never heard of named Mediacom. My bill is half of what it was before and I dont have a bunch of useless channels either. I pay for the 25mps service and I avg around 20 to 24 and about 2 up most of the time. I couldnt get that with Time Warner no matter what I did.
gregbarron
February 10, 2011 at 11:38am
I have 35/35 here in Texas, Speedtest shows I get 43 Download, and 20 upload. Customer Service sucks however.
riopato
February 10, 2011 at 12:20pm
i kept getting texas branch customer service and for 2 months got a run around fixing an account issue. i found a number for ny (where i am) and issue was resolved same day!
Anonymous1234567
February 10, 2011 at 11:34am
so change the phrasing to "advanced fiber optic backed network" and return to business as usual. this seems like a hollow, toothless victory.
NotYetRated
February 10, 2011 at 10:22am
Though I am glad someone stuck it to Time Warner.... As I absolutely loathe their service(thought it is my only choice in my area)..... I do not think Verizon is any better. Yeah they have fiber to the home. Although their coverage...is....awful. Boy are they taking their time rolling out their service! I get a flyer for them on the FIOS services every few months even though they do NOT even offer service in Ohio. I think they should be hit next with some bad advertising claims.
B1Gx5MurF
February 11, 2011 at 3:31pm
I've had fios for 3 years now, before that they sent flyers advertising fios for 2 years even though it wasn't available. I'm paying just as much as I was for time warner, but the internet is 6x faster, and doesn't suffer from peak hour congestion. Though every few months you have to call up tech support and get them to reset their end. Which also requires re-routing my network since bridging my own wireless router keeps thing from working on their end.
riopato
February 10, 2011 at 4:16pm
Cable advertising are annoying. The "we've always had fiber" campaign had this actor that came off very smug and a bit of a douche. Saying that he has all the fiber he needs refering to his bowl of cereal. Then there was what I termed as the "big lie" campaign when the ads stated people was leaving Fios for cable and had actors as customers returning their boxes (at the post office I assume). These "customers" were repugnant, too stupid that they admit not knowing how to read a bill, bitching about how they missed their 24/7 news channel (the same news that you have access to online and streaming) and found Fios cable box to be too complicated. The recent campaigns I've seen lately portrays potential customers as ignorant and stupid as if they don't know how to order cable service.
I guess the cable guys view their customers as uneducated and fundimentally challenged people who are a bunch of assholes that don't know what's better for them.
Fios ads I've seen so far are just promotional offerings and have nothing to do about making the other service (and their customers) look bad.
oihorse
February 10, 2011 at 2:52pm
I was under the impression that Verizon had halted the rollout of FiOS. I know in Maryland, if it's not piped into your neighborhood already, you're SOL.
Kidneysrgood
February 10, 2011 at 10:22am
Since when is it an accomplishment to say that your "fiber-optic" network delivers speeds up to 15Mpbs. Back when I had comcast, and not fios, those were the average speeds I got. Now I get 25/25.
Typical marketing nonsense.
NotYetRated
February 10, 2011 at 10:24am
25/25?! The FASTEST service in my area(Cleveland) is from Time Warner, and it is a "claimed" 20/1, although I have never gotten above .45 on my up. Down holds steady around 15.
riopato
February 10, 2011 at 3:48pm
I got 35/25 according to speedtest.net with my Fios in nyc. I actually had to wait a year for internet and another year for hd service. Found out that Time Warner and Comcast has been blocking Verizon from expanding their fiber network via ani trust suits. So glad that Verizon got the ok and at the same time the cable companies got in trouble for offering "incentives" to apartment build owners.
ddimick
February 10, 2011 at 2:37pm
I have 35/35 with FiOS Business (need a static IP and TOS that allows hosting servers) and I understand I can bump it up higher if I want to pay more.
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
The gang discusses the GTX 690, Trinity, Ivy Bridge, Amazon, big-box stores, MMOs,...
This month's issue
Feature
Build a PC On Any Budget
Feature
Cloud Services Showdown
How-To
Encrypt Your External Drive
Build It
Upgrade an X58 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: Original RickRoll Video Returns to YouTube After 24-Hour Copyright Hiatus http://t.co/MaH9Sxyy1 day 7 hours ago
- maximumpc: Corsair has decided not to go forward with its $78 million IPO, citing weak equity market conditions http://t.co/A5a4DAzj1 day 7 hours ago
- maximumpc: Want to work at Maximum PC? Our Online Managing Editor, Alex, is moving away, so we need a new one. http://t.co/9Z7JCh0E3 days 5 hours ago
