Vodafone Misleading Customers on Broadband Speeds, Claims 3
Vodafone, considered as the fastest broadband network in the UK, may come under scrutiny for its advertised claims on mobile broadband speeds. Vodafone’s advertisement claims that it can provide the highest mobile broadband speed of 7.2 Mb.
3 objects to that saying Vodafone’s actual speeds are nowhere near that number for most of its network, and has lodged a complaint to that effect with the Advertising Standards Authority.
Commenting on the issue, a spokesperson for 3 said that the claimed speed of 7.2 Mb is only available in some parts of Vodafone’s network, and does not represent the entire footprint of the service. The technology of mobile broadband connectivity is such that subscribers are not likely to achieve anywhere near that speed, hence the claims are highly misleading, he said (click for a mobile broadband speed test).
Vodafone in turn maintains that the speed of 7.2 Mbps is achievable in London and at the airport, and would reach other major cities in coming months. They have claimed to cover 80% of the country at 1.8 Mb speeds and are aiming at 3.6 Mb for 50% of the population by end of this summer, a far cry from their advertised claims.
However, complaints of one telecom company accusing another of tall claims are nothing new, with allegations flying back and forth on a regular basis. Broadband speeds shown are never an indication of the actual speed that a subscriber would experience, since those depend on a host of other factors, and by now most consumers understand this.
