Ad board tells Mint Mobile it should stop abusing the word ‘unlimited’

Mint Mobile says it will comply with the board’s decision. | Image: Mint Mobile

The National Advertising Review Board has denied Mint Mobile’s appeal defending its use of the word “unlimited” in its advertising since its unlimited prepaid plan includes a high-speed data cap of 35GB per month. That’s not unusual — most unlimited plans include a cap on high-speed or “premium” data — but Mint actually slows customers down to unreasonably slow 2G speeds after 35GB. That _is_unusual, even in an industry that has rendered the term “unlimited” virtually meaningless, and the ad board sides with AT&T’s argument that it’s slower than a customer would reasonably expect.

Carriers and MVNOs have throttled heavy data users more or less since unlimited plans made a comeback. And to be sure, the vast majority of wireless customers...