AT&T Says "That's Enough!" to Verizon's "There's a Map For That" Ad Campain; Files Suit

 

Late yesterday Engaget broke the news that AT&T has filed a lawsuit against Verizon in response to their agressive “There’s a map for that” ad campaign.  AT&T is alleging that Verizon’s aggressive anti-AT&T ad campaign  is false advertising and unfairly suggests that AT&T does not provide any phone coverage where there are no blue dots.   

 

Here’s what AT&T had to say about it:

 

“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.”

 

Since the story broke there have been some new developments.  The lawsuit appears to be more narrow focussed than was originally rumored.  It now sounds like if Verizon had displayed maps with light blue dots representing the AT&T’s 2G coverage area and kept the 3G area highlighted by blue dots, the lawsuit would’ve never come about.

 

Well, one thing’s for sure, this isn’t as big a deal as originally thought, however it’s definitely a preview of what’s to come as Verizon inches closer to offering the iPhone.  Over the last month, rumors have been flying about how many consider Verizon’s “There’s a Map For That” campaign to be the first of soon to be many attempts to pursuade consumers into waiting to buy an iPhone until next year when Verizon is likely to begin offering it (Read Full Story).