MUMBAI: The advertising watchdog has upheld Reliance Jio Infocomm’s complaint that Bharti Airtel’s commercial depicting it as having the fastest telecom network in the country is misleading, and asked the latter to remove or modify it by April 11. A committee of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) on Friday ruled that the “TVC and website advertisement contravened” ASCI rules.“The complaint was upheld.” Sunil Bharti Mittal-owned Bharti Airtel said it will file an appeal against the order.Airtel said Ookla , a global broadband tester, had certified it as the fastest network operator in India. It also noted the claim by the advertiser is not specific to 4G technology, whereas the TVC has visuals with reference to 4G. “The speed comparison visual also has a reference to 4G in the notification bar and shows poor signal strength for the other service provider. Our campaign is based on findings by Ookla, the globally recognised leader in mobile speed tests and also a benchmark for reputed global operators.” Airtel said the market leader had shared all supporting facts with ASCI and reiterated that its campaign was compliant with all guidelines.

Source: Economic Times March 31, 2017 18:22 UTC