Telco's 'fastest' claim rebuffed

File photo / NZ Herald

Vodafone has issued a late retort to a Telecom advertising campaign claiming the XT mobile internet network is the fastest option for central Aucklanders.

Vodafone released a report yesterday which, contrary to the ads, said it offers the best download speeds for users accessing the web on their mobile phone.

The Vodafone-commissioned speed study was conducted by the United Kingdom's Epitiro, a testing service the Commerce Commission uses for its broadband reports.

From tests in September, it said Vodafone users experienced average download speeds in central Auckland of around 4 megabits per second and 4.2 megabits per second in Wellington.

On the other hand, it said Telecom users downloaded at an average speed of 3.6 megabits per second in Auckland and 3 megabits per second in Wellington.

2degrees' network was slower than its rivals in both cities.

The study contradicts a report released in July by local testing firm TrueNet which said Telecom had the quicker service.

Based on the TrueNet study, Telecom launched a billboard campaign and a television advert claiming it offered the fastest speeds.

The television ad was filmed in Albert Park and featured two smartphones downloading video, with Telecom outstripping its rival.

The advertisement ran in August.

Vodafone New Zealand's chief technology officer Sandra Pickering said the company "took exception" to the ads because mobile speed testing is only a snapshot of a particular point in time.

"It depends where you are, with what device. If you're trying to do a speed test right before the start of a Rugby World Cup [match] you're going to get a totally different experience. There's a lot of factors that go into it and if our competitors want to talk about speeds then we are very confident that we've got the best," she said.

Chief executive Russell Stanners said he was surprised by the TrueNet findings. "We absolutely know we have a very competitive and fast network and the [Epitiro report] says we have ... the results are what we thought before we saw the TrueNet stuff.

"We don't go around bragging about that because, when you look at it, it's not about bragging it's about delivering the best experience and we're more focused on that so we tend to keep a bit of a low profile on what we're doing," he said. Because the tests only reflect "a moment in time', Stanners said the Epitiro study did not necessarily invalidate the TrueNet results.