AT&T Sues Verizon Over Ads

Posted by | 11/03/2009 | 4 Comments

Well, as entertaining as the Verizon ads attacking AT&T have been regarding 3G coverage, I’m guessing we’ve seen the last of them for some time.

AT&T has filed a lawsuit against Verizon stating that the ads are misleading and are causing “incalculable” market share loss. AT&T is asking for a restraining order until this gets sorted out.

Timing is everything of course, but I’m noticing that AT&T’s 3G coverage is now much better and wider here in Northwestern Virginia in the last week or so.

Via Reuters

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Category: Mobile

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Warner Crocker is a professional theatre director, producer and playwright and also a Tablet PC enthusiast. He is also a Microsoft MVP for Tablet PCs. Send email to Warner.
  • Tim

    After reading Engadget’s coverage on this, I’ve got to say that I don’t think AT&T has a chance of winning this, and to be honest I’d be upset if they even got the ads suspended, since–let’s be honest–that’s all they want to do and would be a complete win for them given the length of time the case would take.

    The maps are clearly labeled “3G coverage” and that’s what they show. If consumers misunderstand 3G to mean every aspect of their connection, IMO that’s nobody’s fault but AT&T’s, who pushed the 3G trendword like nobody’s business with the iPhone.

    And overall, the point of the ad is that AT&T has spotty 3G coverage, which pretty much everyone seems to agree with.

  • Travis

    I would watch the commercial on my AT&T wireless plan, but I already know what would happen… come on AT&T put some resources into solving your PROBLEM instead of using those same scarce resources to sue! I am living in the EDGE map that Verizon outed and I can’t stand it much longer!

  • http://www.nashvillesecuritycameras.com/Mini%20Cameras/ mini security cameras

    that is so dumb

  • http://www.ivylaw.com JimAtLaw

    Everyone knows AT&T’s 3G coverage is horrible, and frankly so is their voice and 2G coverage, at least here in the Bay Area – there is little sympathy for AT&T among most here. My iPhone 3G drops half or more of my calls on many days, and drops calls repeatedly when showing 5 bars of signal – it’s deplorable and has not only destroyed my opinion of AT&T but dramatically lowered my opinion of Apple as well. Their 3G data service is also sometimes horribly slow even with a strong signal indicated. So, my opinion may be colored by my horrible experience with AT&T and the iPhone (and my previous comparative experience with Verizon for years before that), but Verizon’s ad is spot on and not misleading at all, IMHO.

    They come right out and say the maps are for 3G coverage, and the ad doesn’t even show someone talking on the phone – it shows the guy using it for internet access and video watching while talking about using 3G, and if someone doesn’t listen to the ad or understand what that means, and doesn’t bother to check, making a false assumption about what it means notwithstanding a meaning that is very clear to anyone with a remote grasp of the technology actually used in the phones, Verizon can hardly be blamed for abject viewer laziness and stupidity. (My grandmother doesn’t understand other complex technology ads either, that doesn’t make them misleading.)

    Let’s hope Verizon fights and wins on this, and that the extra attention that brings further informs the public about how crappy AT&T’s service really is.

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