Telstra may sue Vodafone over 4G speed claims

Telstra has threatened Vodafone with legal action over Vodafone’s claim that it has the fastest 4G network in Australia. In response, Vodafone has turned to crowdsourced speed-test data to justify some of its claims, saying these figures show that it “currently offers the fastest 4G data speeds in Sydney and Melbourne.”

Telstra has reportedly demanded that Vodafone amend several claims that it has made about its 4G mobile services, or face legal action.

“These include claims that Vodafone has faster 4G mobile broadband speeds in capital cities than Telstra and that Vodafone has passed 96 per cent of the population with its mobile services,” a report from The Australian said.

Unnamed sources say that Telstra sent Vodafone a legal letter several weeks ago demanding that Vodafone must change its claims regarding its 4G mobile speeds, and agree to never make the claims again.

According to Computerworld, Telstra’s letter responded specifically to Vodafone’s claims regarding the speeds of its 4G network contained in a Vodafone media release.

Fairfax also noted that one recent Vodafone advertisement features the line: “If you’re in the right spot, this network is blisteringly fast. Easily the fastest 4G network in Australia - if not the world.”

That particular quote is pulled from an article by Trevor Long on EFTM.com.au - one which Long told Fairfax he allowed Vodafone to use in the ad.

Long’s results are based off a “week or so” spent using several phones on the Vodafone 4G network.

“During my trials I visited the Sydney CBD as well as my regular daily commute from Hornsby to Artarmon,” he wrote.

Long reported achieving a range of download speeds from his 166 discrete speed tests, with one result exceeding 100 Mbps. He reported an average of 53 Mbps downlink and 22 Mbps uplink.

“Of those 166 tests, 66 of them achieved download speeds above 60 Mbps. Fifty of them were below 40 Mbps,” he wrote.

The full paragraph from which Vodafone quoted reads: “For my mind, I wish I lived at the Caltex service station on the Pacific Highway northbound near Mowbray Road, Chatswood - because that’s where I got that 100 Mbps+ speed and was able to get regular 80 Mbps+ speeds. As I say, if you’re in the right spot, this network is blisteringly fast. Easily the fastest 4G network in Australia - if not the world.”

Vodafone’s response

Vodafone said that no litigation has been filed so far, and the company has rejected Telstra’s demands, according to The Australian.

A Vodafone spokeswoman told Fairfax that the company was standing by its claims.

“We are very comfortable with the claims and very excited to be offering these 4G speeds in the market for the first time,” the spokeswoman said.

Fairfax also said a Vodafone spokeswoman indicated that the company was prepared to defend its claims if Telstra took legal action.

Telstra spokesman Scott Whiffin said: "We stand behind our years of extensive investment and innovation in the mobile network and we have a vested interest in protecting that investment."

Since then, Vodafone has used data from Ookla speed tests to substantiate some of its claims about its 4G network.

“Vodafone currently offers the fastest 4G data speeds in Sydney and Melbourne, according to Ookla speed tests done by [smart phone users] in the first week of July,” Vodafone said in a statement.

“Vodafone customers averaged a download speed of 48 Mbps across parts of Sydney, ahead of Telstra and Optus, both of which had an average download speed of 26 Mbps.

“Similarly, in Melbourne, Vodafone was well ahead of the competition, with an average data speed of 41 Mbps, compared to Telstra with an average of 30 Mbps and Optus with 23 Mbps.”

Vodafone said the figures are based on data taken from 2933 Ookla speed tests conducted on Android devices connected to Vodafone 4G.

Specifics of the Telstra and Optus tests were not provided.

Whether or not this latest move quashes Telstra’s litigious intentions - or whether it further agitates the telco - remains to be seen.

Image courtesy of Bidgee.