3 has registered a complaint against its rival mobile broadband service provider, Vodafone, over its claims of reaching speeds of 7.2 Mb across its network. Claiming that the speed was achievable only for a specific segment of the network, 3 accused its rival of failing to state the actual numbers, thus misleading customers in an unethical manner.
Claiming that complexity of the technology was such that even if a provider uses 3.6 Mbps technology, the subscribers are unlikely to achieve speeds anywhere near that number, said a spokesperson for 3 mobile broadband. He added that Vodafone’s claims were a blatant attempt to mislead customers in to signing up for its services.
Vodafone has been seen as having the fastest mobile broadband speed in the UK, with its claim of providing 7.2 Mbps. The company now says that the city of London and the airports do have a network speed to that effect, and expects to roll it out to other major cities soon.
It claims that 80% of the network will soon be provided with at least 1.8 Mbps (a fourth of the advertised speed) and it is aiming at securing 3.6 Mbps (half the advertised speed) for at least 50% of the network by the end of this summer.
However, tall claims on broadband speeds and network capacity are not a new phenomenon in the telecom industry, and do crop up on a regular basis. This is primarily because the advertised speeds are theoretical, possible only in a lab environment with top-of-the-line machines. Subscribers experience much lower actual speeds (click here for a mobile broadband speed check), which depend a great deal on the kind of hardware you have, your distance from the hubs and so on.
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