A group of major US internet providers have been told to prove their “fast lanes” and premium services are any quicker than ordinary internet access.

The office of New York’s attorney general has written to Time Warner, Verizon and Cablevision raising concerns that subscribers might not be getting the speeds advertised. Senior enforcement counsel Tim Wu requested detailed information by 8 November. He warned records could be subpoenaed and legal action taken to stop any deceptive business practices.

Wu wrote that the office had two concerns: that speeds in the so-called last mile — the wiring closest to subscribers — “may deviate far enough from the speeds advertised to render the advertising deceptive”; and the quality of connections between the three providers and sites such as Yahoo or Netflix. There had been many consumer complaints, officials said.

In letters to the state’s three major internet providers, the attorney general asked them to validate claims their customers were getting the access speeds promised, especially for premium services.



The attorney general’s office is seeking each provider’s total broadband customers since 2011, grouped by service levels. It also wants all disclosures to actual or potential customers about internet speeds since 2013; substantiation for specific speed claims; related customer complaints; and copies of internet interconnection agreements.

After the attorney general’s review of responses and documents, company officials would be invited in to discuss their broadband marketing practices and services, Wu wrote.

Cablevision told the Associated Press that it would be happy to provide information to the attorney general and its Optimum Online service “consistently surpasses advertised broadband speeds, including in FCC and internal tests”.



Time Warner Cable said it was looking forward to resolving the matter. “We’re confident that we provide our customers the speeds and services we promise them,” said a spokeswoman. Verizon said it was “confident in the robust and reliable Internet speeds it delivers to subscribers”.

With Associated Press