Internet speed spat settled

Qwest to pull ads that Comcast says are misleading

Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 4, 2007 at midnight

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Qwest and Comcast have agreed to make nice, setting aside their legal spat over which company's high-speed Internet service is quicker.

The two sides reached a deal under which Qwest will stop running TV, print and Internet ads claiming that most Internet users found its DSL Internet service was as fast or faster than Comcast's broadband service.

Comcast, for its part, dropped its lawsuit accusing Qwest of "false, misleading and deceptive advertising." Comcast had filed its suit in June in U.S. District Court in Denver.

The suit came after Qwest began running ads saying that 72 percent of Internet users who participated in a test dubbed the "Broadband Challenge" found Qwest's premium service to be as fast or faster than Comcast's.

Qwest also claimed that 38 percent of participants found Qwest faster, 34 percent said the two were about the same and 28 percent found Comcast quicker.

Comcast charged that Qwest compared its fastest service - available to only a fraction of Qwest customers - and excluded Comcast's fastest level of service, which is widely available.

On Thursday, the two companies filed their legal agreement, or stipulation, to resolve the dispute.

"We are pleased that Qwest has agreed to stop running this misleading advertising and will refrain from using this flawed study as a basis for future speed claims," Comcast spokeswoman Cindy Parsons said in a statement.

Qwest spokesman Bob Toevs said his company opted to strike a deal with Comcast rather than spend money on litigating the matter.

"The bigger competitive issues will be resolved out in the marketplace," he added.

fillionr@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2467

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