Regulator rebukes Orange over network claim

Orange misled customers with claims that it had the largest 3G network in the UK, the advertising regulator has ruled.

The decision is likely to prevent any mobile operator from making similar assertions in their advertising in future, because each measures their coverage in different ways. Mobile network quality has become a hot topic as smartphones such as Apple's iPhone proliferate. A regional press advertisement for Orange mobile broadband, run in October last year, said: "The Orange 3G network covers more people in the UK than any other operator." This statistic was repeated in subsequent ads, but is no longer part of Orange's marketing. Three, the network owned by Hutchison Whampoa, challenged the claim, insisting that their network covered the largest population.