The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has dealt a regulatory blow to telco services provider Vocus Group
(ASX:VOC), serving the company’s subsidiaries Dodo and iPrimus a $2.5 million penalty for false advertising.
The corporate authority has accused the Vocus of misinforming its customers about the company’s average NBN internet speed levels, citing the lack of transparency in the disclosure of bandwidth test results.
The business watchdog has expressed concerns about Vocus’ testing approach of only highlighting the most favourable readings and disregarding the lackluster standard speed experienced by regular customers.
The ACCC believes such “flawed” assessment should not form the basis of Vocus’ marketing campaigns about high internet speed and low latency, as these selective results do not accurately reflect the genuine bandwidth of the telco’s services.
The market regulator has sanctioned the fine, after its warnings about misleading conduct failed to incur changes to Vocus’ business practices.
Shares in Vocus Group
(ASX:VOC) are steady at $5.46
