DICE address early-order Battlefield 3 DLC fears

DICE have made moves to quell the unrest over early-order DLC bonuses with Battlefield 3.
It seems there was considerable community upset over the Back to Karkand and Physical Warfare packs, with terms like ‘day one DLC’ thrown around and confusion over who exactly would have access to these add-ons.
The word from DICE is that the Physical Warfare Pack is a ‘timed exclusive’, meaning it will be available with some pre-orders in certain regions (just the UK, for now) but unlocked for the rest of the community, for free, at a later date this year. So everyone gets the “Type 88 Light Machine Gun, DAO-12 Shotgun, Flechette Shotgun Ammo, and a Flash Suppressor”, eventually. You just might have to wait a bit.
Meanwhile, Back to Karkand will have the classic Strike at Karkand, Wake Island, Gulf of Oman and Sharqi Peninsula maps and anybody who pre-orders Battlefield 3 will have access to it as soon as it’s released. Anybody who buys the game later will have to buy this add-on separately.
However, DICE are very keen to stress that Back to Karkand is “not on the base game disc” and is “not day one DLC”. Although it kind of is, really, as it’s additional, purchasable content that’s being talked about a good four months before the title is due for release. If that’s not ‘day one DLC’ I’m not sure what is.
Still, now you know how both add-ons are going to work.
Source: blogs.battlefield.ea.com (you may have to navigate an age gate)