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T-Mobile ticked off for 'net wherever you are' claim

Wanadoo 8Mb complaints also upheld

T-Mobile has been ticked off for making exaggerated claims about its "web'n'walk" mobile internet service.

Launched last October, the cellco said the new service, which lets punters access the net via their handsets, would "redefine the mobile internet market" and would be used by people in the same way they tap into the net.

However, rival cellco Orange objected to a national press ad for the "web'n'walk" internet service on the grounds that T-Mobile overstated the availability of the service. The ad, which featured the service being used at a fashion show, said: "The internet wherever you are."

Orange pointed out that T-Mobile's coverage was only 86 per cent, yet the ad gave the impression that the service was available everywhere in the UK.

For its part, T-Mobile argued that the ad made the distinction that web'n'walk provided full internet access as opposed to older WAP technology. And to ensure that there was no confusion, it also said the service was "subject to coverage".

That didn't wash with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which "noted the unconditional and geographical nature of the phrase, 'the internet wherever you are'.

"We considered the use of such unconditional language to be contradictory to the qualification stated in the coverage disclaimer," it said in its ruling. "We concluded that the ad was misleading because readers were likely to interpret the claim to refer to geographical network coverage. We told T-Mobile to avoid making such unconditional claims in future advertising."

Last month, T-Mobile UK was forced to pull an ad aimed at business users who want to stay connected on the move because it "condoned dangerous driving". The ASA received 13 complaints from people concerned that the ad - which featured a woman driving a car with her glove box crammed full of office equipment - was "irresponsible".

Separately, the ASA has also finally published its ruling against Wanadoo for its ads promoting its "up to 8Mb" service. As previously reported by The Register, the ASA upheld four out of five complaints, which centre on the lack of availability of Wanadoo's "up to 8 Mb" broadband service. ®

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