The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is going after Apple for advertising the new iPad as 4G capable, even though it's not compatible with their 4G LTE networks. The ACCC says they're after "injunctions, pecuniary penalties, corrective advertising and refunds to consumers affected" in this case. Simply enough, Australian LTE operates on on 1800 MHz, while the two new iPad models currently available run on 700 MHz and 2100 MHz. Presumably, Apple will offer support for a wider variety of LTE flavors eventually, but for the time being, Australians and others will have to make do with 3G HSPA+ if they want cellular data on their new iPad.
Telstra, Vodafone, and Optus are both saying the new iPad has "ultrafast wireless" instead of 4G in their banners, but the proper model name for the new iPad in their online shops comes with "Wi-Fi + 4G" tacked on the end, so it's easy to imagine some consumers being mislead. As AT&T has proven, the definition of "4G" is very flexible these days, but it's good to see that marketing wordplay doesn't fly in Australia; with any luck, the ACCC will win this case and get the carriers and Apple to change around the branding.
Australia was one of the first regions to get the new iPad, having joined Canada, the U.S., U.K, France and lots of others on March 16. In fact, it was the first country to put it on sale, and was where the new iPad was disassembled for our viewing pleasure.
Source: ACCC
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