Senator Calls Out FCC, Internet Cos. For Misreported Broadband Speeds

Consumers who purchased internet through Time Warner Cable, Spectrum, or Charter may have received substandard broadband speeds.

Misreported Broadband Internet Speeds

In early June 2019, senator Chuck Schumer called out internet service companies who allegedly mislead their customers about the quality of their broadband internet speeds.

“Broadband” refers to the transmission of data through numerous mediums. In terms of internet, broadband refers to high speed internet access. Unlike traditional internet services, broadband internet is always on. The speed of broadband internet will vary depending on the services paid for.

When companies overstate their internet speeds, consumers may be more likely to pay more for their services. However, this can result in widespread disappointment and lost time if companies cannot follow through on their advertised speeds.

“While we live in an era of faster and faster, the reality of internet speed across New York is that it may move more like molasses than lightning,” Schumer said, according to the New York Daily News.

“If you spend four hours a day using the internet with 5% of that time lost to a sluggish connection. say 15 minutes a day, and you stretch this over one year’s time, that’s 50 hours of lost productivity.”

Pending Internet Speed Class Action Lawsuit

Internet companies such as Time Warner Cable and Spectrum, both owned by parent company Charter, have been accused of misleading customers when advertising the speeds of their broadband internet. In March 2017, consumers filed a class action lawsuit against the companies due to alleged advertising law violations.

Consumers in the internet speed class account lawsuit claim that the companies overstate the wired and wireless internet speed available. The modems and routers provided by the companies allegedly fail to support the speeds advertised, meaning that customers reportedly pay for internet speeds and quality that they simply are not getting.

FCC May Overstate Broadband Speeds

Senator Schumer also called for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to crack down on the practice of overstating broadband internet speeds in order to deceive consumers. The FCC has previously been criticized for overstating the availability of broadband internet.

Recently, a report released by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania found that the broadband speeds in the state were reported to be much higher according to FCC estimates than what is actually experienced by Pennsylvania residents. Sascha Meinrath, the Penn State professor who lead the report along with seven other researchers, says that the disparity between experienced and reported speeds may be due to the fact that the FCC uses data reported by internet providers.

“You see [from FCC data] that a hundred percent of Pennsylvania is supposedly covered by broadband connectivity,” Meinrath said. “Well, I can tell you, we could drive in whatever direction you choose for about five minutes and prove that that is not the case.”

The FCC has disagreed with the report’s findings and states that researchers failed to consider that many consumers may not purchase the best internet plans available to them, meaning that they may not fully

Join a Free Internet Speed False Advertising Investigation

If TWC, Spectrum, and/or Charter failed to deliver the internet speeds, reliability, and performance that you were promised, you may be entitled to seek a cash refund, future discounts or credits, or other legal remedies in court, in arbitration, or as part of a settlement.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.