AT&T Sues Verizon Over “There’s A Map For That” Ad Campaign

It looks like AT&T is attempting to sue Verizon for false advertising in their “There’s A Map For That” ad campaign. AT&T claims that Verizon is misleading customers into believing that AT&T does not offer any coverage in many large sections of the country. AT&T’s statement is below:

In essence, we believe the ads mislead consumers into believing that AT&T doesn’t offer ANY wireless service in the vast majority of the country. In fact, AT&T’s wireless network blankets the US, reaching approximately 296M people. Additionally, our 3G service is available in over 9,600 cities and towns. Verizon’s misleading advertising tactics appear to be a response to AT&T’s strong leadership in smartphones. We have twice the number of smartphone customers… and we’ve beaten them two quarters in a row on net post-paid subscribers. We also had lower churn — a sign that customers are quite happy with the service they receive.

Even though the maps are clearly labeled as representing the 3G coverage area and Verizon has attempted to clear up any misconceptions by adding a “Voice and data services available outside of 3G areas” disclaimer to their ads, AT&T is still not satisfied. AT&T is still claiming that this type of advertising is designed to confuse the consumer; especially those who are not very tech-savvy.

It looks like AT&T is aiming to either get these ads pulled off the air or at least have their full coverage area included on the maps. Initially Verizon Wireless dismissed the lawsuit stating that “the suit doesn’t have any merits” and that their ads clearly explain that “non-3G coverage is available elsewhere”. It will be interesting to see how AT&T responds.

Verizon “There’s A Map For That” Ad:

I personally believe that AT&T has put way to much of their time and effort into the iPhone in the last few years and has let their network suffer because of it. The iPhone, like any other product, has a limited lifespan. Once iPhone sales begin to drop significantly what will AT&T be left with? The Garmin Nuvi Phone and a sub-par 3G network? To top it off, Verizon has acquired the rights to the nationwide 700mhz spectrum and should be rolling out LTE in a few select markets in Q1 2010. This poses a serious threat for AT&T and its current network. Unless some significant shift is made by AT&T, they may be on the losing end of this battle.