23 May 2013

Japan’s second largest mobile operator in terms of subscriptions KDDI has been ordered by the country’s Consumer Affairs Agency to cease using an advertising campaign that exaggerated the coverage area of its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network for Apple’s iPhone 5. According to the Agency’s news release, between September and December 2012, KDDI advertised on its website that the LTE network for iPhone 5 will provide download speeds of 75Mbps to 96% of the population in major cities by end-March 2013. However, the Consumer Affairs Agency stated that as of March 2013, the LTE network for the iPhone 5 covered only 14% of Japan’s population

The watchdog took action after more than 50 complaints about KDDI’s advertising were received. KDDI has already responded to the issue, with the company releasing a public apology to its subscribers, and KDDI’s boss Takashi Tanaka giving up 20% of his salary for the next three months to take responsibility, while five other top executives will take a ten percentage points pay cut for the same period.