Vodafone probed over mobile plan
Commerce Commission is investigating the terms and conditions of NZ telco’s ‘unlimited’ mobile offer
We’re working through the details with the Commission and will co-operate fully with their investigation. Vodafone spokeswoman
The Commerce Commission has opened an investigation into Vodafone’s “unlimited” mobile plan, says a spokeswoman.
In July, the telco launched a new $79.99/month plan called “Unlimited Mobile”.
Like “unlimited” plans launched earlier by rivals Spark and 2degrees, Vodafone’s “unlimited” plan has a number of limits.
Speed is throttled down from 4G to 3G if a customer downloads more than 22GB of mobile data within a month. Streaming video is restricted to standard definition (480p) only, at a time when most streaming video services, including Netflix, which is offered free for six months under Vodafone’s “unlimited” plan, offer high definition (HD).
And “tethering” to a laptop or using
your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot (so other devices can share its internet connection is not allowed).
The restrictions are all listed on Vodafone’s Unlimited Mobile promo page, albeit only after you click an link labeled “Important things to know”.
The question “limited” factors are sufficiently prominent. The ComCom refused to comment while its investigation was open, but a spokeswoman confirmed Spark’s and 2degrees’ unlimited plans were not under investigation.
A spokeswoman for Vodafone said: “We watched the market develop and grow in its understanding of and demand for unlimited mobile plans and followed our main competitors with an offer in July this year.
“We’re working through the details with the Commission and will co-operate fully with their investigation.”
On August 9, the ComCom named telecommunications as one of its seven priorities for its year ahead, saying: “In particular we will be focused on billing, contract terms, marketing and switching practices.”
The regulator already has two sets of legal action underway against Vodafone. On August 22, it laid 10 charges under the Fair Trading Act for billing beyond the date of some customers’ notice period. A second action targets Vodafone’s Fibre X marketing campaign, which the ComCom says is a misleading description of the telco’s hybrid coaxial-fibre service. Vodafone is defending all charges.
The ComCom is also assessing a complaint about a $5 monthly charge that was added to dormant accounts earlier this year.
The unlimited mobile investigation comes at time of transition for Vodafone NZ.
Former Spark number two Jason Paris is due to formally take over from the incumbent Russell Stanners on November 2. And former NZME chief operating officer Carolyn Luey has just been named to succeed Matt Williams as marketing director.