Vodacom’s big network lie

Vodacom continues to promote the lie that it has the best network in South Africa despite official measures it previously used confirming MTN reigns supreme.

Vodacom seems to subscribe to the belief that if you keep repeating a lie, people will eventually believe it.

Vodacom’s latest outdoor campaign uses the payoff line, “Enjoy 5G connectivity on SA’s best leading network”.

However, there is no substantiation for Vodacom’s claim that it has the best network in South Africa.

That is why Vodacom is trying to obfuscate the message by using the term “best leading network” in case it has to defend the claim.

It bases its claim on Tutela’s Mobile Experience Snapshot report, but nowhere in the report does it say Vodacom has the “best network” or “best leading network.”

Making false “best network” claims is nothing new for Vodacom.

In 2017, for example, the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa ruled that Vodacom’s claim of having the “best network for 3 years in a row” was misleading and should be withdrawn.

As part of this case, MTN argued that Vodacom previously relied on network speed test data from MyBroadband Insights and Ookla to back its claims.

When data from MyBroadband Insights and Ookla no longer substantiated its claims, Vodacom switched to the SA Consumer Satisfaction Index (SAcsi).

The SAcsi uses consumer surveys rather than network quality tests to rank operators, which is why Vodacom selected this option.

Vodacom knew it did not have the best network performance but fished around for a way to continue making this claim without truly outperforming MTN’s network.

Industry players slated Vodacom for dismissing the hard work and money that goes into creating a world-class network.

Instead of celebrating MTN’s tremendous investment to create a world-class network, it is using cheap marketing trickery to downplay its rival’s success.

The consequence of this underhanded strategy is significant. It gives politicians and regulators ammunition to show spectrum, and large investments, are not needed to create the best network.

MyBroadband asked Vodacom why it claims to have the best network when objective research shows MTN reigns supreme, but it did not provide an answer.

Vodacom would also not say why it moves from one research platform to the next to claim it has the best network.

Objective measures of the best network

Vodacom claim

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