“Apple is seeking to redefine Australia’s 3G networks as being “4G”, according to a new filing in the Federal Court,” Josh Taylor reports for ZDNet Australia.
“Not satisfied with getting corrective advertising and making Apple offer refunds to customers, according to a report in The Australian this morning, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is trying to push Apple to change the name of the cellular version of the iPad from the ‘iPad Wi-Fi + 4G’ in Australia,” Taylor reports. “This is due to the fact that the new device, launched last month, does not work on long-term evolution (LTE) networks in Australia. It will work on LTE networks in the 2100MHz and 700MHz spectrum bands, but Australian telcos are using the 1800MHz spectrum bands at the moment, because the 700MHz band is still being used for analog TV.”
Taylor reports, “In Apple’s latest defence filing, according to the report, Apple states that it believes the 3G networks run by Telstra, Optus and Vodafone “are 4G networks in accordance with accepted industry and regulatory use of the descriptor ‘4G.’ … When it finally gets to court, Apple will no doubt argue that the HSPA+ service that is available on 3G networks in Australia could be classed as 4G, and has been marketed as such by T-Mobile in the US. But just because one company is marketing it that way doesn’t necessarily mean that there is industry consensus on what 4G is.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: A rose by any other name…
Here in the States, AT&T iPhone 4S units running iOS 5.1 or later display “4G’ when connected to HSPA+. A new 3rd-gen iPad WiFi+4G for both AT&T and Verizon displays “LTE” when connected to “LTE.” We have Verizon iPads, so what does a new 3rd-gen iPad WiFi+4G for AT&T display when it’s connected to HSPA+? Does it display “4G” like the iPhone 4S for AT&T?
Related articles:
Apple and Australian watchdog mediation over iPad ’4G’ fails – April 16, 2012
Apple updates Australian store to further clarify 4G abilities of new iPad – March 30, 2012
Sweden looking into complaints over Apple marketing iPad as ’4G’ (incompatible networks in Sweden) – March 29, 2012
Apple offers full refunds, corrective signs over ’4G’ iPads in Australia – March 28, 2012
Australian watchdog to seek orders against Apple for alleged ‘misleading’ iPad 4G claims – March 27, 2012
Almost Microsoftian, but on a grander scale
joe
An unusually dumb series of moves on Apple’s part – they’re just asking for it.
Typical marketing people at work; not classy.
Though, to be fair, what they call “4G” in Australia, US or elsewhere is fake 4G: honest 4G had to have 100 megabits per second speed until Verizon and others
bribedpersuaded international committee to lift off these conditions.So what Apple tries in Australia is formally totally normal according to new regulations. They can call “4G” almost anything absolutely legally.
FYI MDN: I have the AT&T new iPad and yes it displays 4G just like the iPhone 4S does when connected to the AT&T fake 4G HSPA+ network. This network may be fake 4G but it’s pretty fast. Seems fast enough for me all the time.
My IPad on AT&T says 4G in 3G areas like the iPhone 4S
But just because one company is marketing it that way doesn’t necessarily mean that there is industry consensus on what 4G is.
ACTUALLY, there is a real 4G standard. It is published for anyone to read. There is NO actual 4G mobile phone technology available on the market today. As the sentence above does correctly point out: Everything ‘4G’ today is mere MARKETING HYPE.
That Apple want to now change their mind, for the sake of this idiotic court case, and give into the bogus marketing moron approach of calling current 3G technology ‘4G’ for the sake of screwing customers for the sake of ill gotten sales, is TERRIBLE.
For SHAME Apple. You got it right the first time. Phil Schiller himself pointed out that ‘4G’ marketing hype is wrong. He wanted to wait for REAL 4G before calling anything Apple ‘4G’.
I personally would enjoy stuffing every self-destructive, deceitful, customer screwing marketing moron onto a space ship and sending them into the sun. Douglas Adams was a bit kinder in HHGTTG and simply stuffed them onto the Golgafrincham Arc Ship B and sent them to ancient Earth.
When LTE Advanced arrives on the market, THEN we’ll have actual factual 4G. And NONE of the current fake ‘4G’ devices will be compatible. Won’t that be a joy. 😛 What do we do then? Sue ALL the liar mobile phone companies and phone manufacturers? That would be a hell of a lawsuit.
Come on, Derek! Apple is getting screwed over by the very ambiguities that the telcos, themselves, introduced to the market to spur consumer buying. They did the same thing with 3G years ago, only to revise that so-called 3G to 2.5G after “real” 3G was finally released. Apple is just playing by the same confused and twisted nomenclature and system as the rest.
There is at least one thing that F10T12 gets right – people need to take personal responsibility for all aspects of their lives and stop whining for relief every time something doesn’t go their way. I am generally diametrically opposed to F10T12, but he can’t be wrong about everything (no matter how hard he tries).
Hey, Aussies…look at the iPhone specs and look at the new disclaimers that were added as a result of lawsuits. Then either buy an iPhone, or don’t. But tell your gov’t that you can take care of yourselves the way that you always have, and you don’t need any more “help.”
The real failure, in my opinion, is the mashed up spectrum and transmission protocols across the world. We need worldwide standards that are open and royalty free. Then things will start to improve.
They did the same thing with 3G years ago, only to revise that so-called 3G to 2.5G after “real” 3G was finally released.
Apologies. I didn’t pay attention to mobile at that time. IOW the marketing moron approach (aka Screw Thy Customer) in the mobile business in merely SOS (Same Old Shite).
people need to take personal responsibility for all aspects of their lives and stop whining for relief every time something doesn’t go their way.
Total agreement! I get disgusted with myself over my all too human laziness regarding personal responsibility. And I’m what I call a ‘Positive Anarchist’, IOW maximum choice with maximum responsibility. It’s a goal to which I endeavor.
We need worldwide standards that are open and royalty free.
That would be ideal. But then there are always the tribalists who insist upon fragmentation if only to assert their right to be separate and not equal, or whatever. Then there are the book of Revelation loons who think world standards are a sign of the coming anti-Christ, who is somehow worse than our average human psychopath. We have some growing to do as a species.
In Australia, our ‘Telcos’ are still rubbing two sticks together. …… ‘She’ll be right Mate, we got NBN’.