Folksonomics

A recent advertisement by Vodafone claiming to provide 7.2 Mb broadband speeds all over the UK has caused 3 to file a complaint against Vodafone with the Advertising Standards Authority.

According to a spokesman for 3 mobile broadband, the technology for mobile broadband is very complex and it is highly unlikely to provide customers a speed of 7.2 Mb even if one uses a 3.6 Mbps technology.

The complaint was made on the grounds that Vodafone was ‘misleading’ its customers through advertisements. Vodafone has been at the top of its game in the mobile broadband market, and some of it is due to its speed claims. But 3 argues that the whole thing has been a sham as the high-quality mobile broadband services of Vodafone only work in some parts of the country and not the entire country.

Vodafone corrected reports saying it only provides the 7.2 Mb broadband speeds in London and in airports and will try to spread over to other cities in a few months’ time. It also added that it is looking forward to covering 80 percent of the country at 1.2 Mb and is set for 50 percent coverage at 3.6 Mb as soon as summer ends. But this is hardly anything like what its advertisements claim.

3’s complaint to the ASA is somewhat justified as they are losing customers as a result of Vodafone’s speedy services promise. On the other hand, the accusation of misrepresenting speeds against only Vodafone does not go down too well since advertisements from most service providers do not reflect the actual speed of its mobile broadband service.