AT&T Strikes Back: New Commercial Responds To Verizon 3G Claims

AT&T's New 'Truth About 3G' Site

After losing an initial court request to pull Verizon’s “Map” commercials, AT&T has created its own ad and website claiming the carrier offers a better “3G experience” than its rival. The new ads and website featuring actor Luke Wilson tout “When you compare, there’s no comparison. AT&T.”

The website, TruthAbout3G.com, follows the denial by a federal judge of AT&T’s request that Verizon’s ads be yanked because they are ‘misleading.’ In Wednesday’s ruling from Atlanta, GA., U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Batten, Sr., wrote that some viewers might “misunderstand” the ads, “but that doesn’t mean they are misleading.”

Batten described many TV viewers as “semi-catatonic” and the ads possibly “sneaky.” AT&T may have a second chance to convince the judge when lawyers for the Atlanta-based carrier and Verizon meet Dec. 16. Verizon claims the lawsuit is without merit.

Although AT&T lost the first round in court, it appears to be seeking to win in the court of public opinion. The new ads and website describe AT&T’s 3G network, which the carrier claims to cover 230 million U.S. residents. Unmentioned is 3G coverage area or signal quality.

For its part, Verizon’s lawyers responding to AT&T’s charges in court documents said its “Map” ads are factual and “truth hurts.”

“AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s ‘There’s A Map For That’ advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts,” the New York-based company responded. Verizon claims AT&T’s smartphone customers have suffered because of its rival’s lack of sufficient 3G infrastructure.

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Verizon Responds to AT&T ‘Map’ Ads Lawsuit: ‘Truth Hurts’

[Via AppleInsider, iClarified and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.

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Robert Castillo
I have to say that when i’m using my Jailbroken iphone 3GS to download porn, my 3G signal is usually much faster than my wifi connection. And i’ve noticed this when connected to different wifi connections and i’m talking about 1 hour videos about 100MB. So I’m happy with the 3G quality and coverage with At&t but of course I’d love it to be as fast as T3 by now. haha.
http://www.matthewdlyons.com matthew
This is just stupid. AT&T already looked silly suing Verizon for the ads, now we can add petty to the adjective list.
k-one
ok, i am a staunch defended of AT&T, but looking at their own published 3G coverage map just made me irrate. my parents have a cottage in York Beach Maine and since i have had an iphone i have never gotten 3G, let alone Edge or even a signal for calling people, in York Beach unless i am physically on the beach or at the lighthouse. yet AT&T’s 3G map shows SOLID BLUE for the entire town.
but beyond that, i have never had a problem in MA or CT anywhere with AT&T
Charli
the trouble is that ATT doesn’t give any details. they just say they are faster. so what are the speeds ATT? How fast is Verizon’s 3g and how fast is yours. and if, as you claim your edge is just as good, how fast is that. assume that people can understand the data and give it to them straight. the Complete truth that you claim Verizon isn’t giving.
http://www.xomba.com/wwwverizonwirelesscom_%E2%80%93_verizon_bill_pay_%E2%80%93_online_bill_pay Gerald Jones
Instead of taking this fight to court why doesn’t AT&T just listen to its customers. Ask their customers if they’re are getting satisfactory coverage in the areas that they say are strong. That’s a simple solution versus their competition coming out with facts.