Telstra and Optus clash in court over ‘best’ claim

Telstra and Optus have locked horns in court, with each accusing the other of using misleading marketing material.

Optus objects to Telstra’s “unlimited” ads. Pic: Supplied

Telstra and Optus have locked horns in court, with both telcos accusing each other of putting misleading marketing material out to the public.

While Telstra is challenging Optus’s claims of having the best mobile network in the country, Optus has responded in kind over the way its rival is pushing its ‘Unlimited’ mobile plan in the market.

Lawyers from both telcos squared off in the Victorian Supreme Court today as Telstra applied for an injunction to force Optus to remove ads that claim it was “undisputedly operating the best national mobile network”.

Meanwhile, Optus has fired back with a claim of its own, alleging that Telstra’s latest marketing of its “unlimited” plan is tantamount to bait advertising.

According to Optus, Telstra’s ads that state “One word from Australia’s best mobile network. Unlimited” make unqualified statements about what the telco is offering its customers.

Telstra has rejected the allegation, with a spokesman saying that it will stick with the wording.

“We stand by our advertising and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this case.”

Telstra’s initial action is based on Optus using the results of the P3 connect Mobile Benchmark test, conducted last year, to tout the prowess of its mobile network.

The test, which has been operating annually in Australia since 2014, measures the quality of data and voice services of mobile operators. The latest results in December saw Optus knock Telstra off its perch, with its network ranked the overall winner.

Telstra did not participate in the 2017 P3 survey and is now taking action to force Optus to remove a series of advertisements that claim the superiority of its network from high profile areas.

According to Telstra, Optus’s claims “The Mobile Network is now best overall nationally” and “The Optus Mobile Network has been ranked best overall in voice and data”, that have been used in two ad campaigns, are false.

“The P3 report is not a sufficient basis to support the claims made by Optus and in fact ranked Telstra best for data performance, a Telstra spokesman told The Australian.

Telstra, which had consistently topped the P3 studies prior to 2017, maintains that it has had reservations about the P3 tests.

“Telstra and our vendors did not pay P3 to help optimise our network performance in preparation for their survey, as to do so we believe is not conducive to a transparent and independent outcome, the spokesman told The Australian last year.

“Despite having won the survey for the previous three years, we have consistently pointed out shortcomings in the methodology and chosen not to pay to use these wins in market.”