[real-eyes] ATT and Verizon fighting over Wireless Claims
- From: "Reginald George" <sgeorge@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:36:02 -0500
Thought this was funny.
Verizon seeking judgment on 'Most Reliable' ad claims
By pgoldstein
Created Jul 28 2009 - 9:49am
Verizon Wireless filed a lawsuit against chief rival AT&T Mobility, asking a
U.S. judge to determine whether its "America's Most Reliable 3G Network" ads
are truthful, a claim AT&T has said is misleading.
[1]Verizon filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan in
response to AT&T's claims that Verizon's advertising was false could not be
supported. On July 1, according to the claim, AT&T filed a challenge with
the National Advertising Division of the Council for Better Business
Bureaus, and sought to have Verizon's advertising declared false. However,
Verizon countered that its claims of having "America's Most Reliable 3G
Network," "America's Best 3G Network" and "America's Most Reliable Wireless
Network" are "truthful, accurate and substantiated," and are not in
violation of the trademark law known as the Lanham Act.
Verizon said that AT&T's claims were based on a false premise that speed is
an essential element in measuring network reliability.
"AT&T's claim that speed is an essential component of 3G network reliability
and that its formula is the proper standard for measuring 3G network
reliability is without any support whatsoever," Verizon said in its filing.
"Neither the normal and customary usage of the term 'reliable,' nor any
established industry standard, requires that speed be included in measuring
the reliability of a 3G network."
AT&T offered a rebuttal, naturally.
"Verizon's claim that speed is not a relevant factor to a reliable 3G
network is preposterous," AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said in a statement,
according to Reuters. "Data network speed is an essential factor to
consumers when it comes to data transmission on their wireless devices. The
3G reliability claims made in ads by Verizon Wireless are false and
misleading."
The issue highlights the intense competition between the nation's two
largest carriers. Verizon Wireless passed AT&T Mobility recently as the
nation's largest wireless operator in terms of subscribers when it acquired
Alltel. However, AT&T gained a small edge in the second quarter of this
year, posting more net subscriber additions than Verizon.
Further, Verizon's lawsuit represents the latest squabble over advertising
claims in the wireless industry. In the past, Sprint Nextel, Verizon
Wireless and Cingular Wireless have argued over similar issues.
For more:
- see this Reuters article [2]
- see this Bloomberg article [3]
Related Articles:
Verizon reports strong wireless revenue growth [4]
AT&T activates 2.4M iPhones in Q2 [5]
Cingular can say it has "more bars in more places" [6]
Advertising group backs Sprint's claims against Verizon Wireless [7]
Source URL:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/verizon-seeking-judgment-most-reliable-ad-claims/2009-07-28
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