Telstra said that Optus was being misleading and deceptive when it advertised that it was “covering more of [Australia/State] than ever before”.
A Federal Court didn’t agree, dismissing Telstra’s interpretation of the ad as “fanciful”. The telco must now pay the legal costs of Optus.
Andrew Sheridan, Optus VP, regulatory and public affairs, says the judgement is a win over “unnecessary bullying tactics”.
“Optus has made significant investments to expand our footprint, improve coverage and experience and the ruling is a win for competition, choice and most importantly customers,” he says.
The Optus campaign ran across television, print, online and digital billboards.
According to Telstra, the advertisements made representations to the effect that the Optus network covers more of Australia or the relevant state than any other including Telstra’s.
Optus argued that all the advertisements conveyed is that Optus’s mobile network has more geographic coverage than it has ever had before.
“I agree with Optus’s contentions,” says Justice Jayne Jagot in a judgement. “When each advertisement is viewed as a whole Telstra’s contentions as to the representations conveyed are untenable.”
The ads feature images from rural, regional and urban Australia, with the Optus’s yellow “Yes” logo superimposed over each of the images.
In the television ads the statement “covering more of [Australia/State] than ever before” appears after the images followed by the word “OPTUS”.
“I do not accept Telstra’s submission that the advertisements would convey to a not insignificant number of ordinary and reasonable consumers that the Optus network now covers more of the relevant geographic region than any telecommunication provider has previously covered,” said the judge.
“That representation is not plainly open when the advertisements are each considered as a whole. It is a strained and fanciful interpretation of the advertisements … “
The two telcos have form going to court. In 2018, a court found Telstra engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by using the word "unlimited" in advertisements.
Optus then said that the ad made the claim that Telstra offers a mobile service that is unlimited.
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