T-Mobile forces changes in advertising KPN

As a result of preliminary relief proceedings initiated by telecom provider T-Mobile against market leader KPN, KPN changed its advertising campaign ‘Beter Netwerk, Beter Leven’ (Better Network, Better Life).

In preliminary relief proceedings T-Mobile criticised various advertisements of KPN, in which KPN claimed to be the ‘best’ in differing terrains. In the view of T-Mobile, these claims were misleading and impermissible, the more so as recently the renowned P3 Group chose T-Mobile’s network as the ‘best in test’ for the Netherlands – for the fourth time in a row. At the oral hearing KPN stated that it had meanwhile changed its website on virtually all aspects that were critised by T-Mobile and that KPN would keep it that way, apart from the claim ‘Better Network’. In its judgment of Monday 8 July 2019 the preliminary relief judge ruled that this claim, going from the now changed website of KPN, was not comparative.

In a counterclaim KPN fought an advertisement of T-Mobile in which T-Mobile promised that it would be the first to roll out a country-wide 5G-network in the Netherlands in 2020. The complaints of KPN were denied by the preliminary proceedings judge, as KPN lacked an urgent interest in its claims and that KPN had not substantiated in any way why it had not made a complaint against this advertising campaign before.

Gregor Vos and Rutger Stoop represented T-Mobile in this matter.