Letters | Sunday, 26 April 2009

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iPhone experience ruined

Last December I decided to treat myself to an iPhone 3G, which I bought for €375 with a two-year, €40 a month contract. The monthly contract is mainly comprised of the Lightweight Knockout plan (€20) and an internet bundle of 600Mb (€20), which is supposedly offered at 3G speeds.
After a few months of usage and running internet speed tests in various places to check what the maximum speed reached is, I realised that the download speed never goes faster than 0.3Mb/s. Puzzled, I emailed Vodafone’s customer care, where Mr Kevin O’Neill promptly replied that one can expect speeds of up to 3.2 Mb/s when one has good 3G/HSPDA coverage available.
After running more tests but still getting the same results, I decided to phone up Customer Care to ask them about this issue. I was first told that the maximum speed for the iPhone was that of up to 385Kb/s, which amounts to just about 0.3Mb/s! I was then asked to phone up the internet section of Customer Care to confirm this, which I did straight after.
I was told that the iPhone does not support HSDPA, the fastest wireless internet available, but this is not true since it’s clearly listed on the Apple website as being supported. After I told the representative this, I was told that Vodafone Malta decided to offer the iPhone as a phone capable only of going up to 3G speeds, and not HSDPA speeds, hence the constant 0.3Mb/s outcome. I was then made to believe that the service varies wildly, and that Vodafone Malta never discloses what the maximum speeds reached on a device can be. The representative also denied having told me that the maximum speed is 0.3Mb/s, even though I had just been told this moments earlier!
I believe it’s shameful of Vodafone Malta to offer such a mediocre service without even first warning the customer that the maximum speed on the iPhone that can be reached is just that of 0.3Mb/s. It’s not only false advertising, since I was made to believe that 3.2Mb/s could be reached, but also a disappointment as the iPhone has been heralded and the phone which will truly being mobile internet to your pocket. Compared to the Vodafone Internet Key, which offers true 3.2Mb/s speeds with a 5Gb download limit for about €24/month, the iPhone wireless internet experience has been horrible. Thank you so much for ruining my iPhone experience Vodafone!

Luke Buttigieg

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