(Credit: T-Mobile)
T-Mobile has agreed to dial back some of the marketing hype around Starlink Mobile after an advertising regulator concluded the coverage claims went too far.
On Monday, the National Advertising Review Board (NARB) recommended that the carrier "discontinue or modify" the implied coverage claims for Starlink Mobile, or what T-Mobile calls T-Satellite.
Since last year, T-Mobile has been offering satellite-to-phone service to eligible customers to receive a signal in cellular dead zones, such as rural and remote areas. To market T-Satellite, the carrier produced several TV commercials featuring actor Billy Bob Thornton talking up the satellite connectivity.
But in January, an initial decision from the National Advertising Division (NAD) found a few of the satellite marketing claims could be misleading to consumers, arguing they “communicated universal coverage.” In reality, T-Satellite is meant to only function in dead zones, or areas out of reach of traditional cell towers.
T-Mobile filed an appeal, sending the case to the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), NAD's appeals board. But ultimately, it agreed with the earlier January decision, saying: “the NARB panel concluded that NAD reached the correct conclusion."
“As NAD pointed out, consumers are very likely to be unfamiliar with the emerging satellite technology, and accordingly advertisers must exercise caution to avoid overstating the extent of satellite coverage,” the regulator said, later adding: "The panel also recommends that T-Mobile modify its advertising to avoid conveying that T-Satellite provides 100% coverage everywhere and that T-Satellite provides 100% coverage everywhere the sky is visible."
T-Mobile didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But the carrier told the advertising regulator that it will “comply with the panel’s recommendations.”
“T-Mobile’s advertising in this case highlighted truthful information about the ease of use of its satellite service,” the carrier added in its statement to the advertising regulator. “T-Mobile does not believe consumers would reasonably understand its advertising to communicate an absolute message that T-Satellite provides ‘100% coverage’ everywhere and is disappointed with the panel’s decision in this regard. T-Mobile is also disappointed that NAD and NARB continue to apply different standards to T-Mobile’s advertising than they apply to T-Mobile’s competitors. T-Mobile will nevertheless modify its advertising to comply with the panel’s recommendations.”
NAD took up the case after rival carrier AT&T filed a complaint, disputing two claims T-Mobile made in press releases and in an 8-minute promotional video about T-Satellite. Specifically, “If customers can see the sky, they’re connected [to T-Satellite] — even in the areas no traditional cellular network reaches today,” and “No matter where you are, you will never miss a moment [with T-Satellite].”
AT&T also flagged one of T-Mobile’s Billy Bob Thornton commercials, but not for any T-Satellite claims. Instead, the carrier said one of its commercials allegedly misled consumers about price increases at both AT&T and Verizon, a claim the advertising regulator also urged T-Mobile to discontinue or change back in January.
The decision comes about two years after T-Mobile flagged AT&T’s own TV commercials featuring actor Ben Stiller for overhyping its own satellite connectivity claims. The NARB also weighed in, urging AT&T to reel in its advertising claims, which AT&T agreed to do.
AT&T plans to offer satellite connectivity through a Starlink Mobile rival, AST SpaceMobile, which has also partnered with Verizon.
UPDATE: T-Mobile sent us the full statement below, which also takes some shots at AT&T:
“We stand firmly behind the accuracy of our advertising. We’re the only US wireless provider with 650 satellites in orbit delivering real, direct-to-device connectivity where no terrestrial network reaches. Today, more than 60 types of devices can automatically connect to T-Satellite without a special app or OS solution, accessing robust features that aren’t available from other providers and supporting specific apps for location sharing, video chat, weather, news and more. By contrast, AT&T’s solution remains in testing, and Verizon relies on a limited number of satellites with narrow device compatibility."
"We disagree with the NARB’s conclusions and reject the uneven application of standards imposed on T-Mobile’s advertising. The NAD allowed AT&T to advertise aspirational satellite capabilities it did not yet have, with only a disclosure noting the feature wasn’t available to customers. Anything less than a level playing field across the industry undermines the integrity of the process.”