Vodafone: quality more important than speed

Vodafone has responded to claims that it isn't offering fast enough mobile broadband by stating that its customers don't see speed as the main priority.

A survey from Broadband-expert.co.uk stated that Vodafone only manages to supply mobile broadband at an average speed of 1.2Mbps, with an advertised maximum of 7.2Mbps.

But Vodafone has responded, pointing out that its aim has never been to be the fastest out there:

"While the research showed Vodafone's network offered the fastest speeds for mobile broadband, our customers tell us that their most important needs are reliability and consistency from their mobile broadband. Speed is not the main requirement.

"We are doubling our network capability to 14.4 Mbps. This means even more of our customers will enjoy greater reliability and better average connection speeds on their existing devices.

Telling the truth

"We've been careful to communicate what customers will typically experience from mobile broadband and give examples on vodafone.co.uk to show how long a presentation, image or document will take to download using 1.2Mbps.

"We have signed up to the code of best practice and were recently awarded the Best Consumer Mobile Broadband for 2009 by the ISPA, with the judges saying they were impressed by our coverage, range of contracts and the options we give for using mobile broadband overseas.

"We're in the process of ensuring all our website information is consistent for customers so they can get details on network coverage whether outdoor or indoor, wherever they are."

Point missed

This is a sentiment echoed by 3, which also stated that the survey slightly missed the point when concerned solely with speeds:

"A big consideration when choosing Mobile Broadband is the reach of the network, the distance a user is from a mast and the capacity of the pipe that connects the mast to the internet.

"We already offer our customers Britain's biggest Mobile Broadband network and we're working hard to connect more people in more places and add capacity where people use it most. It's not just about speed, it's about access, convenience and the mobility offered.

"For simplicity and clarity we stick to the industry standard of stating technical standard speeds. However, we make it clear to our customers that these are maximum theoretical speeds rather than the connection speeds actually experienced."