Mobile Network Wars: Vodafone calls B.S. on Telstra’s longstanding network size claims

The team at Vodafone are not sitting on their hands when it comes to looking for a fair deal in the market since their deal with Optus pushed their network coverage to new levels earlier this year. Today they are on the attack, calling for regulators to investigate Telstra’s mobile coverage claims.

The company alleges that Telstra has “engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct for over 15 years” when making claims about the size of their mobile network.

TPG/Vodafone is claiming that Telstra has overstated the geographic reach of their mobile network by as much as 40 percent.

Kieren Cooney, Group Executive Consumer, Data and Analytics at TPG Telecom says “This is alarming. It appears Telstra has tricked Australians into paying top dollar for coverage they simply can’t get on a regular mobile phone. We are shocked that Telstra appears to have been overstating its coverage by so much for so long and we are calling on them to make it right,”

“Telstra’s conduct could have misled consumers into believing they can get coverage in places that require special equipment. 

“By overstating the coverage available to most Australians by such an enormous amount, Telstra and its resellers have no doubt retained customers or attracted customers that might otherwise have chosen Vodafone or other TPG Telecom brands such as TPG, Felix, Lebara and Kogan.” 

Vodafone is suggesting these claims go back 15 years in their Annual reports, along with many public statements and marketing materials.

What is at the basis of this claim and objection is that it appears Telstra’s claims are based on signal strength obtained using a special antenna, not a generic mobile phone. Equipment that very few people have and that comes at quite a high cost.

Interestingly, since TPG/Vodafone brought these claims to Telstra earlier this month, it appears – based on screenshots provided by Vodafone, that Telstra has already made adjustments to their claims:

Vodafone’s key allegations against Telstra are as follows:

1. 3 Million Square Kilometres Coverage Claim: Telstra has claimed that its mobile network covers an area of three million square kilometres. The actual coverage received by most Telstra mobile users is nearly one million square kilometres less. Telstra’s advertised coverage is based on using an external antenna and repeater, which very few people have.
2. Population Coverage Claim: Telstra has claimed that its network has 99.7% population coverage. This claim is also based on using an external antenna and repeater and ignores the fact that very few Australians have this costly equipment.
3. Comparative Coverage Claim: Telstra has asserted that its network covers more than double the area of Optus’s network and around three times the area of Vodafone/TPG’s network. This compares Telstra’s external antenna coverage with Vodafone

And this won’t just be a PR nightmare, TPG Telecom (Vodafone) has reported the issue to the ACCC and is also considering legal action.

For what it’s worth, Telstra stands by their claims. A spokesperson telling EFTM “No matter how you look at it, Telstra’s mobile network covers more of Australia than any other.“

“Any suggestion that we’ve misled the public about the size of our network is completely untrue.“

“Using our coverage maps, customers have always been able to determine our level of coverage with and without an external antenna, so they always knew what to expect based on the device they’re using.“

“Many customers in regional and remote areas benefit from using external antennas to maximise their coverage. This is why we have used this as the basis for our coverage footprint. “

“Now that Vodafone has communicated to us how it’s chosen to calculate its coverage footprint, to help the public understand the difference, we’re highlighting that our 3 million square kilometres of coverage is based on using an external antenna.“

“Using coverage maps, people can see the many towns, highways and places where we’ve invested to provide coverage and Vodafone hasn’t. We’re all for transparency and industry consistency in how we report coverage and would gladly put our maps up, side-by-side, so that Australians can see the difference.“

“On any measure, Telstra’s network is at least 1 million square kilometres larger than Vodafone’s – that’s an area more than 14 times the size of Tasmania.“