Cellular24.07.2013

Voice quality battle: Vodacom vs Telkom Mobile

By Staff Writer

Vodacom has lodged a successful complaint at the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) against Telkom Mobile’s commercial which claims that Telkom Mobile has a “better voice quality”.

The television commercial, set in an office environment, stated that “Telkom Mobile has an incredible network, built to carry better voice quality so you can actually hear the full message”.

Vodacom was not amused by this claim, arguing that Telkom Mobile’s claim “better voice quality” is clearly in relation to the other mobile networks in South Africa, but cannot be substantiated.

According to Vodacom, which provided network tests to back up its argument, it has the best voice network, which renders Telkom Mobile’s claims false.

Telkom Mobile responded by saying that it does not claim to have the best voice quality, but rather that it offers better voice quality than other networks.

“No claim is made that it is better than any specific service provider,” Telkom Mobile said.

The ASA was not convinced by Telkom Mobile’s argument, saying that the advertisement creates the impression that the operator offers the best voice quality in South Africa.

The ASA further said that Telkom Mobile failed to provide adequate substantiation for its better voice quality claims.

The ASA ruled that Telkom Mobile’s “better voice quality” claim is unsubstantiated, and ordered Telkom Mobile to withdraw this claim with immediate effect.

Telkom Mobile unlimited network coverage

The commercial further states that Telkom Mobile provides “unlimited network coverage”.

Vodacom argued that no network covers 100% of South Africa, which means that the “unlimited network coverage” claim is false.

Telkom Mobile further argued that “unlimited network coverage” does not refer to 100% coverage, as interpreted by Vodacom.

“The term refers to the fact that a subscriber’s access to services is not limited to the coverage area of Telkom Mobile’s network,” the company said.

Here the ASA ruled in favour of Telkom Mobile, saying that it is not convinced that consumers would interpret the claim “unlimited network coverage” to mean that Telkom Mobile covers 100% of South Africa.