As Verizon invested to upgrade their network to fiber, AT&T continued to squeeze out every last dime of profit from an aging network and then broadcasted during contract negotiations that their wireline network was being retired. What does AT&T think connects wireless towers together? It’s not magic, it is wire and fiber that make the connections between wireless towers and it is work that is provisioned and maintained by the core contract workers’. Where was the investment to upgrade the network or was this another example of smoke and mirrors? Was this an attempt by the company to lock out core workers’ from upgrade work associated with the network? Now Verizon ads (As Seen On TV) are calling AT&T to task and their only response is to sue? It is the Network that counts, not just the gadgets.

AT&T sues Verizon, claiming ad campaign is misleading

By Star-Ledger Wire Services

Verizon Communications said AT&T’s effort to stop a Verizon ad campaign with a court order is meant to grab a bigger share of the mobile-phone service market during the holiday shopping season.

AT&T, the largest U.S. phone company, sued Verizon Wireless of Basking Ridge Nov. 3 in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, saying its advertising about network coverage is misleading. The ads use white space in maps of so-called 3G network coverage areas to indicate that rivals’ customers are "out of touch" in vast parts of the U.S., AT&T claimed.

"AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts," Verizon said yesterday in a response to the lawsuit. AT&T is seeking an immediate order to yank the ads "to gain a tactical advantage during the critical holiday shopping season," Verizon said.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten tomorrow will hear a request from Dallas-based AT&T for a court order to stop Verizon from using the maps in its ads. Verizon Wireless is jointly owned by New York-based Verizon Communications and the U.K.’s Vodafone Group.

"We continue to believe strongly that their use of white space in their advertisements misleads people into thinking that AT&T offers no coverage in most of the country," AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said. "We look forward to presenting our case."

Verizon leapfrogged AT&T as the largest U.S. wireless carrier this year after acquiring Alltel. The company’s ads tout it as the best network for smart phones as more of the Web-enabled devices come onto the market.

Verizon began selling Droid phones this month, setting up the Google Inc. Android-based devices as an alternative to AT&T’s iPhone from Apple.

Carriers are counting on sales of data plans, which let customers download applications and gain access to the Web, to drive growth. AT&T and Verizon are competing for a dwindling supply of new customers as there already are enough wireless devices to cover about 90 percent of the U.S. population, according to the CTIA wireless industry association.

AT&T’s revenue from data subscribers grew 34 percent, to $3.6 billion as overall sales fell in the third quarter. Verizon’s wireless data sales grew 48 percent.

The case is AT&T Mobility LLC v. Cellco Partnership, 09-cv- 3057, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta). Cellco Partnership does business as Verizon Wireless.