Telstra has threatened a lawsuit against Vodafone Hutchison Australia for claims about the relative speeds of their 4G networks.
Computerworld Australia understands that Telstra and Vodafone exchanged letters earlier this month.
The Telstra letter responded to claims in a 12 June media release by Vodafone, in which Vodafone stated it offers the fastest 4G mobile broadband speeds in Australia’s capital cities.
At the time, Vodafone said that its spectrum holdings allow it to offer 4G speeds “outpacing competitors across areas of all five mainland state capital cities today.”
In a statement today, a Vodafone spokeswoman narrowed the scope of the claim to two capital cities.
4G in Australia: The state of the nation
“Vodafone's 2x20MHz spectrum holdings are bound to attract our competitors' attention, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne where our spectrum is currently unmatched,” she said.
A Telstra spokesman confirmed the telco has contested Vodafone’s 4G marketing claims.
“Telstra is confident of the claims that we make about our network,” he said. “This type of action is not uncommon.”
Telcos should provide independent data to back up their claims, according to the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN).
“Talking about spectrum holdings and properties goes over the heads of most consumers and is poor information on which to make purchasing decisions,” an ACCAN spokesman said.
“We believe consumers would be better served if telcos invested money in improving network performance instead of court battles.”
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