Vodacom vs Telkom Mobile in Voice quality battle

I think for both VC and Telkom an argument about network quality is a big deal and VC is going to be pissy about TM running adverts which play on suspicions of network quality inferiority by the incumbents.
 
Strangely, I disagree with both rulings.

EDIT: (In my experience) when a commercial entity claims something they provide is "better", they mean it is better than some other product/service they used to offer, that the new one (being advertised) now replaces.
So in this case, I would interpret the advertisement to mean that TM has upgraded their mobile network such that the voice quality is now better than it used to be.
 
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what if telkom use a higher quality codec with a higher bitrate?
 
Sodan said:
Strangely, I disagree with both rulings.

EDIT: (In my experience) when a commercial entity claims something they provide is "better", they mean it is better than some other product/service they used to offer, that the new one (being advertised) now replaces.
So in this case, I would interpret the advertisement to mean that TM has upgraded their mobile network such that the voice quality is now better than it used to be.
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Typically that's how ads are worded, i.e. it's better than it used to be - you compare against yourself.

But that was not the wording in this specific ad and that was what the ASA ruled on.
 
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”.
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The ASA must dread the day these mobile operators discovered them. I'll bet 50% of their workload revolves solely around their petty squabbles.
 
McT said:
The ASA must dread the day these mobile operators discovered them. I'll bet 50% of their workload revolves solely around their petty squabbles.
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I take it you read the rulings as published by the ASA to make this informed observation?

How many are by corporations, compared to members of the public, and how many of those by telecoms companies?

And while you're impressing us with your intimate knowledge of the cases before the ASA, maybe relate complaints to the number of ads placed on a monthly basis, i.e. what complaints to ad ratio do you calculate for the industry compared to other industries.

Thanks!
 
Even if it is true that the ASA has a massive workload arising from MNO complaining about each other that isn't a problem.
Public complaints are free, competitors pay to complain. So the necessary funding for ASA work comes from companies fighting with each other.

But I highly doubt the MNOs make up even 5% of the ASAs workload - looking at the rulings that are handed down. Probably a higher amount of complaints than most industries this is primarily a consequence of the nature of the industry. We know more about the complaints because of the reporting on MyBB, I am sure if a person was in the wingnut-for-tractors industry and read TractorsWeekly you'd know all about all the complaints between agricultural wingnut manufacturers - and sheep.
 
Paul Hjul said:
Even if it is true that the ASA has a massive workload arising from MNO complaining about each other that isn't a problem.
Public complaints are free, competitors pay to complain. So the necessary funding for ASA work comes from companies fighting with each other.

But I highly doubt the MNOs make up even 5% of the ASAs workload - looking at the rulings that are handed down. Probably a higher amount of complaints than most industries this is primarily a consequence of the nature of the industry. We know more about the complaints because of the reporting on MyBB, I am sure if a person was in the wingnut-for-tractors industry and read TractorsWeekly you'd know all about all the complaints between agricultural wingnut manufacturers - and sheep.
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Exactly, and it takes 5 seconds to go to the ASA's website and see it for oneself. Yet people are too lazy and then make statements that only show their ignorance.

The ASA is actually one of the best run organisations and most corporates, especially in the telecoms industry, try and stay well within the rules. With hundreds of different ads every month, the typical number of complaints is probably less than 20 per year for the whole industry. And probably 90%+ are from the public.

And you're right that a corporate lodging a complaint pay a (very hefty) fee. So it's typically only done when there is a real issue to be resolved.
 
also don't the companies end up having to spend piles of money on legal representation for ASA matters - even if its just in house. Granted considerably less than if the matter was dealt with in the courts.

I wouldn't go so far as hold that complaints between corporates arising "typically" only "when there is a real issue to be resolved" because from my perspective the companies fights aren't "real issues" :D but rather just one front where they battle it out for gaining market share. I doubt it very much that an MNO would expend the resources to fight a an advert initiated by a competitor with no chance of threatening their market share that doesn't appear before the broader public.
 
Most of these complaints probably increase awareness of the "flawed" advert... sometimes this could work to the original ad's benefit!
 
well Telkom should run an ad educating the public about the "flawed" adverts and what the whole truth of the situation is ...

ASA didn't find that the claim was outright false just that it wasn't substantiated?
 
jannievanzyl said:
I take it you read the rulings as published by the ASA to make this informed observation?

How many are by corporations, compared to members of the public, and how many of those by telecoms companies?

And while you're impressing us with your intimate knowledge of the cases before the ASA, maybe relate complaints to the number of ads placed on a monthly basis, i.e. what complaints to ad ratio do you calculate for the industry compared to other industries.

Thanks!
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"I bet...." implies that he is speculating about an uninformed observation. I am surprised by the venom of your attack.
 
HendrieV said:
"I bet...." implies that he is speculating about an uninformed observation. I am surprised by the venom of your attack.
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5 minutes of reading could eliminate a lot of speculation, don't you agree?

But, in a world where so much info is available - how much effort is it really to go to asa.org.za? - there is a distinct lack of interrest to self-educate.
 
jannievanzyl said:
5 minutes of reading could eliminate a lot of speculation, don't you agree?

But, in a world where so much info is available - how much effort is it really to go to asa.org.za? - there is a distinct lack of interrest to self-educate.
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Do you really first do research before voicing any casual off the cuff opinion?
I voiced surprise only because I also do not check the validity of every tentative opinion of mine when I read or converse. I do not think it is possible. Am I thus also uneducated?
 
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