EU roaming - EDGE/3G

On a recent EU trip, I had the worst experience so far with SMARTY’s EU roaming:

• In Belgium, I was on EDGE for the vast majority of the time.
• In France, I was on 3G/UMTS for the vast majority of the time.

3G is at least mildly usable for data, whereas EDGE is not.

Why is SMARTY being allowed to advertise inclusive EU roaming that is essentially unusable?

Previously mentioned excuses, such as that SMARTY can’t control what service level other operators provide, and/or that they prioritise their own customers, are of course nonsense, since SMARTY is also one of their customers (directly or indirectly), and a better service level could be written in to the contract which SMARTY (directly or indirectly) has with them.

For those tempted to say, “If you want a premium roaming service, go elsewhere,” this is missing the point. SMARTY is advertising inclusive EU roaming, but providing roaming in a particular EU country predominantly through EDGE masts is essentially not providing roaming at all.