User:Louis/WOW symmetrical speeds advertising

As of October 19, 2026, WOW!, an internet, cable & phone provider, shows a tile on its homepage headed "Symmetrical Speeds" that begins "Equally fast uploads and downloads",^[2] while its "Broadband Facts" label (a "Fixed Broadband Consumer Disclosure" of a plan's price & speeds) for one plan named Internet 600, listed at $45.00 a month, gives a typical download speed of 612 Mbps & a typical upload speed of 53 Mbps.^[3][4] WOW! says the label price is its base rate for standalone internet & leaves out AutoPay, paperless-billing & other pricing options that may be available.^[5]

The same tile appears after an address check. For an address in Huntsville on October 22, 2026, the homepage's "Internet Only" tab offered four plans whose cards show only "300 Mbps", "600 Mbps", "1 Gig" or "1.2 Gig" as the speed, and upload speeds of 25 and 50 Mbps appear only after a visitor opens the "What's included" panel on each card; the "Symmetrical Speeds" tile is shown further down that page.^[1]

Labels for one plan each named "Internet 300", "Internet 1 Gig" and "Internet 1.2 Gig" list typical upload speeds of 25, 53 and 53 Mbps, against typical download speeds of 301, 1,036 and 1,201 Mbps.^[6][7][8][4] WOW! also sells symmetrical service: its label for a plan named "Internet 1 Gig Symmetrical" lists typical speeds of 937 Mbps for both download and upload,^[9] and its fiber internet page tells WOW! fiber Internet customers they "receive symmetrical download and upload speeds, no matter which service you choose".^[10]

On October 22, 2026, after an address in Huntsville was entered in its address check, WOW!'s homepage showed four plan cards under an "Internet Only" tab.^[1] The face of each card gives a plan name, one speed, a monthly price and a "Get Started" button: "300 Mbps" at $30, "600 Mbps" at $35, "1 Gig" at $50 and "1.2 Gig" at $70 a month.^[1] Each price is marked with an asterisk for a note that begins "With enrollment in AutoPay & paperless billing".^[1]

No upload speed appears anywhere on the face of the four cards.^[1] Each card ends in a closed row labeled "What's included" with a downward arrow.^[1]

Opening a card's "What's included" panel shows a "Perfect For" box and a checklist that ends with the upload speed.^[1] The 300 Mbps card lists "Upload Speed Up to 25 Mbps", and the 600 Mbps, 1 Gig and 1.2 Gig cards each list "Upload Speed Up to 50 Mbps".^[1] On the 1.2 Gig card, the opened list gives "Download Speed Up to 1.2 Gig" directly above "Upload Speed Up to 50 Mbps".^[1] On the 600 Mbps card, the line where the other cards give a download speed reads "1 Gig Internet Speeds".^[1]

None of the four "Internet Only" plans shown for the address has an upload speed equal to its download speed.^[1]

In a September 2022 staff report on dark patterns, a term it says has been used to describe "design practices that trick or manipulate users", the Federal Trade Commission lists "Hidden Information" among the patterns it groups as sneaking or information hiding and describes it as "Hiding material information or significant product limitations from people".^[11] Discussing how a company can obtain "express informed consent from consumers before charging them", the report says companies "should not hide key terms of a purchase" in a general terms and conditions document or behind hyperlinks, pop-ups or dropdown menus.^[11]

Below the cards and a strip reading "Consistent Speeds", "Lower Latency" and "Built for Multiple Devices", the same page shows the "Internet on Your Terms" block.^[1] Its second tile is headed "Symmetrical Speeds" and begins "Equally fast uploads and downloads".^[1] The first tile is headed "Fiber-Powered Internet", and the sixth, "No Risk. All Reward.", says "Try WOW! fiber internet with confidence."^[1]

The homepage of WOW! shows a block headed "Internet on Your Terms" with six tiles, among them "Fiber-Powered Internet", "Symmetrical Speeds" and "No Contracts. No Commitment."^[2] The "Symmetrical Speeds" tile reads in full:

Equally fast uploads and downloads so you can stream, share, work, and play without slowing down.

^[2]

WOW!'s fiber internet page says, "Symmetrical speed means equally fast uploads and downloads."^[10] Under "Technical questions answered", WOW!'s homepage says download speed is "the time it takes for your computer to access a webpage from a server" and upload speed is "the time it takes for your computer to send information to a remote computer".^[2]

Elsewhere on the homepage, WOW! states, "Availability, speeds and pricing vary by location. Address check required."^[2]

WOW!'s label for one plan named Internet 600 is headed "Broadband Facts" and "Fixed Broadband Consumer Disclosure", and lists a monthly price, monthly and one-time fees, and typical download and upload speeds.^[3] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) states that broadband labels "must disclose important information about broadband prices, introductory rates, data allowances, and broadband speeds".^[12] In a rule published on December 16, 2022, the FCC stated that it "requires providers to display their typical upload and download speeds".^[13]

The Internet 600 label prints "Unique Plan Identifier: F0018579375B26DV2DT06045AA".^[3]

All six labels print "No" after "This monthly price is an introductory rate".^{[6][3][7][8][9][14][4]} The labels for the five Internet plans in the table link to a WOW! pricing page,^[4] which states that the "Monthly Price" on the label is "the base monthly retail rate for our standalone Internet plan".^[5] According to that page, the price does not reflect certain discounts or other pricing options that may be available, such as those for AutoPay, paperless billing and bundling broadband with other services.^[5]

The pricing page describes a monthly discount for customers who enroll in AutoPay.^[5] The discount applies only after enrollment and "may take up to one billing cycle" to appear on the bill.^[5] Its amount "may vary depending upon your service plan".^[5] Each of the six labels lists a monthly Paper Statement Fee of $4.00.^[3][4] The pricing page linked from the five Internet plan labels states: "Enrollment in Paperless Billing will eliminate the $4 month Paper Statement Fee."^[4][5] The Internet 600 label also lists one-time purchase fees of $99.00 for Professional Installation and $10.00 for Self-Installation Activation.^[3]

In its annual report for 2024, WideOpenWest, Inc. (WOW!) said its services were delivered across 18 markets over a hybrid fiber-coax network & a fiber to the home network (FTTH).^[15] Brightspeed, an internet provider, writes that hybrid fiber-coax uses fiber for most of the network, but that "the final connection to your home runs over coaxial cable".^[16] On such a network, according to Brightspeed, download speeds "can still be strong" while "upload speeds and peak-hour consistency may be more limited compared to FTTH".^[16] WOW! described fiber to the home in an April 30, 2026 release: "With FTTH, the fiber connection is made directly to the home or business."^[17]

WideOpenWest, Inc. reported that its footprint covered certain suburban areas within Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, South Carolina & Tennessee, & that at December 31, 2024, its broadband networks passed nearly 2.0 million homes & businesses & served 478,700 customers.^[15]

On December 31, 2025, investment firms DigitalBridge and Crestview Partners announced that affiliated investment funds had completed their previously announced take-private acquisition of WideOpenWest, Inc. (WOW!).^[18]

WOW!'s April 30, 2026 release said of WOW! fiber Internet that "Speeds are symmetrical, meaning download and upload speeds are equal".^[17] On May 19, 2026, WOW! said a fiber expansion in Greenville County, South Carolina, nearly doubles its fiber footprint there, "delivering symmetrical, multi-gig speeds directly to homes and businesses".^[19]

WideOpenWest, Inc.'s 2024 annual report said the fiber to the home technology in its expansion area "can support up to 5 GIG symmetrical services".^[15] The report said WideOpenWest, Inc. offered speeds up to 1.2 GIG in approximately 99% of its footprint.^[15]

CNET's Trey Paul wrote in an April 2025 review that "WOW offers four internet plans, all featuring an asymmetrical hybrid fiber-coaxial cable connection", and that the reliance on coaxial cable means download speeds "will be much higher than the upload speeds".^[20] He wrote that "WOW's 600Mbps plan offers upload speeds up to 50Mbps", as did its 1,000 Mbps & 1,200 Mbps plans.^[20]

Telecompetitor, a telecommunications trade publication, reported on July 13, 2022:

WOW! said today that it has made 1.2 Gbps service available in all the markets that it serves. The upstream speed is a considerably slower 50 Mbps, however.

^[21]

Asked why WOW! was only offering 50 Mbps upstream, a spokesperson said, "We are delivering the speeds that support the services our customers want and need today."^[21]

WOW! said in a December 19, 2023 release that a trial in Panama City was available to "a select group of customers" & that participating customers "will benefit from 2 Gbps download speeds and 200 Mbps upload speeds".^[22] The trade publication Lightwave wrote in December 2023 that the technology used in the trial brought WOW! closer to "symmetrical multi-gig services, including eventually 10 Gbps".^[23]

WOW! said in a September 3, 2026 release about moving its TV customers in Florida to YouTube TV that the transition "will free up spectrum on its networks for faster internet download and upload speeds".^[24]

Under section 8.1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (47 CFR 8.1), any person providing broadband internet access service must create and display an accurate broadband consumer label "for each stand-alone broadband internet access service it currently offers for purchase".^[25] The FCC's consumer page on the labels says the majority of providers must display clear, easy-to-understand and accurate information about the cost and performance of broadband services at the point of sale by April 10, 2024.^[12]

The regulation defines point of sale as a provider's website and any alternate sales channels through which the provider's broadband internet access service is sold.^[25] On a provider's website, "the label must be displayed in close proximity to the associated advertised service plan".^[25] Paragraph (a)(3) requires the label content to appear on the provider's website "in a machine-readable format", and requires providers to put the information in any label in a separate spreadsheet file on their websites "via a dedicated uniform resource locator (URL) that contains all of their labels".^[25]

The FCC adopted an order, FCC 26-48, on July 22, 2026 & released it on July 23, 2026.^[26] Its Federal Register summary says the order "eliminates or modifies certain broadband label requirements".^[26] The order set an effective date of September 14, 2026, "except for instruction 3 (Sec. 8.1(a)), which is delayed indefinitely".^[26]

Instruction 3 would revise paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of section 8.1 and remove paragraphs (a)(3), (5) and (7).^[26] Under the revised paragraph (a)(2), a provider's website could show "an icon or link that connects directly to the label" in close proximity to the advertised plan, if it "is clearly identified as a way to access the label for the advertised plan".^[26] The order would also eliminate the requirement that providers make the contents of labels available separately in a machine readable spreadsheet file format hosted at a dedicated URL.^[26]

The order's Federal Register summary states that the FCC will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of instruction 3.^[26] As of October 15, 2026, the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) text of section 8.1(a) still contains the close-proximity, machine-readable & spreadsheet requirements.^[27]

Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. challenged several express speed claims on direct mailers for Charter Communications, Inc., such as "Ultra fast speeds of 400 Mbps", before the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs.^[28] In a decision announced on March 15, 2023, NAD found that "the record demonstrates that upload speeds are important to consumers" and that both download and upload speed "are material considerations for consumers" when deciding which internet service provider to use and which tier of service to purchase.^[28] NAD recommended that Charter qualify its speed claims "to indicate whether the speed claims refer to download or upload speed".^[28] In its advertiser statement, Charter stated that it would appeal the portion of NAD's decision related to its quantitative speed claims.^[28]

Charter appealed the recommendation from NAD's decision in Case No. 7153 to the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appellate advertising body of BBB National Programs.^[29] In a decision announced on July 6, 2023, a majority of the NARB panel disagreed with NAD's recommendation, crediting Charter's argument that for approximately two decades it has been an industry practice for quantified speed references in internet service provider advertising to communicate download speeds.^[29] Absent any evidence of consumer confusion, the panel concluded that Charter's quantified speed claims "do not mislead reasonable consumers".^[29] One panel member dissented and found that the claims, in context, were ambiguous and could convey to reasonable consumers that the "speed" reference was to both upload and download speeds.^[29]

Comcast Cable Communications, LLC rebranded its fixed internet network as "Xfinity 10G Network" in February 2023, and T-Mobile US, Inc. challenged that name and the claim "10G" before NAD.^[30] In a decision announced on October 12, 2023, NAD found that Comcast's description of its entire network as "10G" conveys the message that all consumers on the network "will receive a significant increase in speed up to 10 Gbps speeds".^[30] According to the decision, only one of Xfinity's many plans, Gigabit Pro, "can reach 10 Gbps", and access to that tier "requires the installation of fiber to the premises".^[30] NAD concluded that Comcast "did not provide a reasonable basis for its 10G claims" and recommended that Comcast discontinue them or qualify them, for instance to make clear that "10G is aspirational".^[30] In its advertiser statement, Comcast stated that it would appeal NAD's decision.^[30] Comcast appealed, & in a decision announced on February 5, 2024, the NARB panel, in agreement with NAD, determined that Comcast "should discontinue use of the term 10G", both in the name "Xfinity 10G Network" & when used to describe the Xfinity network.^[31]

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