Your internet provider thinks you’re dumb. Between fake “unlimited” plans, bogus fees, and simply not providing promised speeds, companies like Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, and Spectrum have been using questionable claims and branding to spin their customers for years. Now, as we approach an era of faster mobile and wired internet speeds, recent marketing antics show that this kind of insult to your intelligence is only going to get worse.
The latest salvo revolves around companies pretending to reach or beat 5G without actually offering 5G. There’s AT&T, which rebranded parts of its 4G LTE network as “5G E”; Verizon, which launched a home internet service using non-standard “5G TF”; and the cable industry, which is trying to top your...