FTC punishes KT for false advertising

KT has been promoting GIGA LTE as the core technology of 5G services. Korea Times file

By Kwak Yeon-soo

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has issued correction orders to telecom giant KT for false advertising in promoting its GIGA LTE technology, the nation's antitrust watchdog said Sunday.

The FTC said KT deceived potential customers by sending ads saying it provided the fastest data speed of 1.17 Gbps by combining 3CA LTE-A coverage with localized GIGA WiFi networks.

According to the watchdog, KT posted misleading ads on its website and Olleh talker blog from June 2015 to November 2018, claiming that GIGA WiFi technology enabled the widest coverage area through KT GIGA Infrastructure.

KT has been promoting GIGA LTE as the core technology of 5G services, highlighting its fast speed and wide coverage through “200,000 LTE network coverage and GIGA Infrastructure.”

However, the commission found that the service was available in only 3.5 percent of the country's base stations.

The FTC explained that KT's false advertising violated Article 3 of the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising, which prohibits (1) false or exaggerating labeling or advertising and (2) deceptive labeling or advertising.

“KT's move is tantamount to false and exaggerated advertising as the network service was only available in few regions in the country,” an FTC official said.

“There are concerns that KT's advertising could undermine fair trade by misleading customers that KT's network services are better than those of its competitors.”

The commission said it also investigated other telecom giants, but failed to find evidence of false claims.

Following criticism that FTC's investigation took place too late after 5G became commercialized, the commission said, “Since 5G has become widely popular this year, it was timely to carry out an investigation this year.”