Late in March, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) saidApple had broken consumer law by labeling the tablet as 4G without making it clear that customers wouldn't be able to get 4G speeds in Australia. Apple and the ACCC came to an agreement on the matter, and soon after the Cupertino-based company discussed similar issues with the UK's Advertising Standards Agency. However, it seems the ASA is still receiving complaints.
According to the Telegraph, the ASA initially contacted Apple after receiving 40 complaints and Apple said it had removed the references to 4G from the webpage in question. The company also promised to edit a video that referred to the iPad's 4G capabilities. Fast forward a month and the ASA says it is now receiving new complaints about references to 4G on Apple's website.
"We have since been contacted by several complainants who have identified other potentially problematic claims about the iPad and 4G on Apple's website," the ASA said. "We are currently assessing these new complaints. If it appears that the problem claims we asked Apple to remove are still appearing, will investigate these new complaints."
The new iPad was unveiled in March and is the first iPad with 4G capabilities. However, the iPad's 4G radio is not compatible with all countries. The 4G LTE networks in the United States and Canada run on the 700 - 2100MHz spectrum, but not all of the world's 4G LTE networks run on the same bands. For example, the UK's 4G LTE will (once it's launched) operate on the 800 - 2600MHz spectrum and though the new iPad will still be capable of faster 3G speeds than the old iPad 2, customers definitely won't be able to hop onto the UK's 4G LTE networks when they're eventually launched. Despite this, Apple UK is listing the mobile internet model as 'iPad WiFi + 4G' on its website.
