Vodacom has the fastest mobile network in South Africa: ASA

The Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) has ruled that Vodacom’s claim to have “South Africa’s Best Network” with the fastest mobile Internet is accurate.

The ruling followed a complaint by Telkom about a Vodacom billboard promoting the gold Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone.

The billboard stated: “The Gold Standard, only on SA’s Best Network with fastest mobile Internet. Vodacom – Power to you”.

Telkom lodged a complaint with the ASA, arguing that Vodacom does not have the best network among all operators – fixed, mobile, and Internet service providers.

Telkom highlighted that it received the 2014 MyBroadband Award for best fixed and best mobile broadband provider.

It added that MTN’s LTE service topped the MyBroadband speed test server chart for the fastest average download speed.

“Whilst the ASA has previously ruled that Vodacom is entitled to claim that it is the “fastest network for smartphones”, that ruling can by no means be extended to include “mobile internet”,” said Telkom.

Ireland Davenport responded on behalf of Vodacom, and submitted Ookla speed test data which showed that Vodacom has been the fastest network for smartphones by a significant margin for the past five months.

It added that the MyBroadband speed test data is not relevant in the context of mobile network performance since it largely excludes smartphone tests.

The ASA agreed with Vodacom’s submission. “The Ookla “Wireless and Mobile Speed Rankings” data shows that Vodacom had the highest download and upload speeds of all the wireless and mobile operators in South Africa for that entire period,” said the ASA.

“Vodacom is not misleading consumers by claiming to provide the fastest mobile Internet, and given that it is claiming to be South Africa’s best mobile network because it provides the fastest mobile Internet, that claim is not misleading either.”

The ASA dismissed Telkom’s complaint, saying that Vodacom’s billboard advertisement is not misleading.

More on Vodacom and the ASA

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