Rob Gallagher of Telecoms.com has been trialing a 3 dongle and it has got him thinking about the seemingly repeated mantra that ‘consumers of the latest gadgets don’t want details; they just want to know what it can do’.

In the case of mobile broadband, the example he gives was that at a recent event, executives suggested whether a network can provide 8Mbps is more or less irrelevant to a consumer; they just want to know if they can access Facebook and YouTube. This is something Rob disagrees with; an assertion backed, he believes, by history.

The past (and now present) desire to over-hype expectations at what a product can do immediately sours a brand-consumer relationship, as those buying into to the details feel as if they have been duped when a product falls short of what is promised. Rob makes note of the recent Vodafone retraction around the claims that their broadband service delivered speeds of up to 7.2Mbps; a statement that was forced by an Advertising Standards Agency ruling. Currently Rob is using the 3 dongle and, although more realistic in the speeds that are given as achievable (3.6Mbps), he is still falling short of this.

The issues are, Rob believes, that the companies involved have simply placed the bar too high and that addressing the situation is merely a case of managing what can be expected from the consumer side. 3 get a positive mention in regard to their software that tracks and logs speed and data usage, meaning that a user is fully aware of the service they are getting. It is in this area where the service needs to be expanded; this will promote a far more satisfactory relationship between a brand and its customers.

A move such as this would be beneficial to all involved and, with Ofcom’s introduction of a code of conduct, surely now is the time to address it. As Rob states in his conclusion, providers should be “working out ways to go above and beyond the letter of Ofcom’s code of conduct. From now on, their motto should be: “Customers really do care about the technical details, because it lets them know what they can do.”

It is an interesting and crucial point for the mobile broadband marketplace as it stands right now, and it would be good to hear any thoughts you, our eminently informed readers, have on the subject. Let us know.

For Rob’s full post click here.