3 lodges complaint about Vodafone speed claims

An official complaint has been lodged with the Advertising Standards Authority by mobile broadband network 3, attacking Vodafone's 7.2Mb mobile broadband claims.

Vodafone has been acknowledged as the fastest UK network for some time now, based on its claims to theoretical top speeds of 7.2Mb. Now, however, 3 is claiming that Vodafone's ability to supply 7.2Mb is relevant to only specific parts of its network, and is not representative of the service as a whole. The letter of complaint alleges that these speeds are 'misleading’ and ‘unlikely to be achieved’.

A spokesman for 3 said: ‘The complexity of mobile broadband means even if you use 3.6Mbps technology it is very unlikely a customer will experience those speeds.’

Vodafone claims that the advertised 7.2Mb speeds can be achieved in London and in airports - which is great if you live in London or in an airport, but not much use elsewhere - and that the faster speeds will reach other major cities later this year. It added that it can reach 80 per cent of the population at 1.8Mb (which is not 7.2) and is aiming for 50 per cent coverage at 3.6 (which is also not 7.2) by the end of the summer.

It's easy to sympathise with 3's complaint - who wants to lose customers over claims that are only just this side of being misleading? But having said that, you can't help but feel that any mobile broadband network accusing any other of misrepresenting speeds could be judged to be a case of pot and kettle, since advertised speeds rarely if ever give a clear picture of the actual service you can expect to receive, no matter who is doing the advertising.