Commerce Commission lays charges against Vodafone over 'fibre' that wasn't
Friday, 13 April 2018
Vodafone is facing misleading conduct charges over its FibreX broadband service, which operates only partly on fibre-optic cables.
The Commerce Commission has laid 27 charges under the Fair Trading Act.
The charges relate to offers made between October 26, 2016 and March 28, 2018, in Wellington, Christchurch and Kapiti.
The commission alleges that, by calling the service FibreX, and with the advertising used, Vodafone misled consumers into thinking the service was a full fibre-optic broadband connection, such as they would get on the ultra-fast broadband network.
READ MORE: Vodafone's 'FibreX' label attracts attention from watchdog
It is actually delivered over Vodafone's hybrid fibre-coaxial network, which uses both fibre-optic and coaxial cabling.
The commission also claims Vodafone misled its customers with website options of broadband services available at their addresses.
Vodafone said it was disappointed by the Commerce Commission's approach.
'We disagree with the charges laid by the commission and welcome the opportunity to defend the naming and marketing of FibreX and reinforce the benefits of this service,' it said in a statement.
'We had a vision to provide consumers with an alternative way to receive super-fast reliable broadband that would also be more affordable and offer a better installation experience. We delivered that through a significant investment in our own hybrid fibre coaxial network.
'We think this type of investment in infrastructure is good for New Zealand. It promotes competition and gives consumers choice, and we are surprised the commission does not appear to welcome that.'
It said it had been clear in its communications. The Advertising Standards Authority had looked into FibreX advertising in 2017 and ruled it was not misleading.
'They noted FibreX performs to a comparable [speed] standard to other fibre access technologies,' Vodafone said.
'The single biggest pain point our customers are facing is fibre installation delays by local fibre companies, and FibreX offers an alternative for customers who want to avoid these delays while enjoying the benefits of ultra-fast broadband.'