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| DigiTel Files FTC Complaint Against ACS |
Date: Wednesday 02 August, 2006
8/02/2006 - ALASKA DIGITEL FILES FTC COMPLAINT AGAINST ACS FOR MISLEADING "COMPARISON" ADS
ANCHORAGE, AK Wednesday, August 2, 2006 – On Wednesday Alaska DigiTel filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Alaska Communication Systems (ACS) for violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act and other laws that prohibit deceptive advertising. Alaska DigiTel is asking the FTC to investigate deceptive and unfair advertising by ACS, which includes violations of the law regarding unfair trade practices and false advertising. ACS and Alaska DigiTel are competitors in the provision of wireless communication services to residents in the State of Alaska.
On July 13th, ACS issued a press release followed by an advertising campaign utilizing the headline, “The results weren’t even close” comparing both “blocked” and “dropped” call rates of other statewide wireless communication providers. The comparison touted that ACS had fewer “blocked” and “dropped” calls overall. According to ACS, these results were derived from their own “drive-test” and not by an independent firm. The formal filing with the FTC cites, “The ACS ‘drive-test’ ads violate the truth in advertising law as developed by the Commission. They make misrepresentations about material facts…that are likely to mislead consumers.” The filing by Alaska DigiTel also cites “false advertising” in regards to the Lanham Act, “unjust and unreasonable practices” under the Communications Act of 1934, violations of the Commissioner’s Policy Statement on Deception, as well as multiple violations of Alaska state law. The formal filing concludes, “Because of these violations of law and policy, Alaska DigiTel asks the Commission to initiate an investigation; to seek such preliminary injunctive relief as may be necessary to prevent future injury to consumers; to seek to permanently enjoin ACS from further violations of the FTC Act and other applicable laws.”
“ACS’ so-called ‘comparative’ ads are unfair and deceptive,” said Jeff Roe, Chief Operating Officer of Alaska DigiTel. The ads imply the use of objective and verifiable testing techniques, but industry insiders know that “drive-test” data can be easily skewed by the choice of methodology used to collect the data. “Independent testers are readily available and are a regular part of doing business in our industry,” continued Roe, “Throwing out a lot of statistics clothed as facts does consumers a disservice as they evaluate their communications options.”
If an outside, unbiased third party had performed an objective test the results would have been significantly different. Based on both their own drive-test and switch data (which provides additional call quality measures) Alaska DigiTel’s measurement of “blocked” and “dropped” calls are substantially better than ACS’ so called “drive-test” results and indicated that the number of blocks and drops of each of ACS and Alaska DigiTel in Anchorage are approximately equal, with Alaska DigiTel performing better in some areas of Anchorage.
Alaska DigiTel is confident that results from an independent source would not provide ACS with the types of claims their current campaign is hinged upon. “Consumers deserve the truth, so we decided to take measures with the FTC to halt the spread of misinformation. ACS needs to know that our community will not stand for bogus advertising claims,” concluded Roe.
Alaska DigiTel began providing CDMA wireless communication service in the state of Alaska in November of 1998. Alaska DigiTel provides 100% digital service in Greater Anchorage, the Mat-Su Valley, Fairbanks, Juneau and the Kenai Peninsula. Our fundamental goal is to provide customers with the best in wireless communications and personalized customer service. We live, work, and play in the communities we serve. We are constantly increasing our coverage area in the state of Alaska and adding new services for our customers. We carry a wide range of phones and accessories in each of our stores and offer the best in customer service. |
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