Mobile broadband 'not same standard' as fixed-line

Mobile broadband should not be marketed as interchangeable with fixed-line, according to a ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The decision came following a complaint about a T-Mobile advert which claimed that its mobile offering had "all the benefits" of a fixed-line equivalent.

While the company claimed it was not making a "direct technical comparison" to home broadband and was instead focusing on capabilities rather than speed, the ASA disagreed.

The watchdog said that because mobile broadband was reliant on wireless telephone networks, "it could not guarantee the same continuity of service".

"In particular, we were concerned that activities such as streaming, downloading and online gaming were unlikely to be available to mobile broadband users to the same standard as to fixed-line broadband users," it concluded.

T-Mobile has been told not to use the advert again and avoid making a similar implication in future.

According to vnunet.com, Orange has seen an increased demand for its mobile broadband-enabled laptops.

The HP devices access the internet using an inbuilt 3G modem or an external USB dongle.