“This is just the beginning of the process,” said AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel, adding that the company does not agree with the court’s decision and will most certainly pursue the case.
Verizon argued in its defense that it simply pointed out the true facts and nothing more.
Reflections by the federal judge
The U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten said while delivering his verdict that the ad by the Verizon might be “sneaky” and “clever” but it was “literally true”.
“The fact that people misunderstand the ads does not always mean the ads are misleading,” Batten said. “AT&T has failed to show a substantial likelihood of prevailing on the merits of any of its claims.”
The federal judge declined to give AT&T temporary restraining order against the Verizon Wireless and re-scheduled the hearing date on Dec. 16.
The new hearing date will provide the AT&T attorneys another chance to push their client’s point.
The contentious Verizon advertisement
The ad shows maps of US highlighting the areas where “3G” network coverage is available.
Whereas the blue areas, apparently depicting AT&T’s coverage, show a lot of empty space, the other map, where Verizon depicted its own coverage in red dots, is shown to have covered nearly all the United States.
With this commercial, Verizon has made fun of Apple Inc.’s much popular “There’s an App for That” spots flaunting thousands of application on iPhone that can be used.
AT&T’s initial response
AT&T in its attempt to defend itself had said that ads are totally misleading because there is coverage in the areas even when 3G service is not offered there.
At first, on Oct. 27, AT&T had contacted the Verizon Wireless and requested the offending ads to be taken off-air or modified. But no one responded to their request, so AT&T filed a lawsuit against the Verizon.
In response to the lawsuit, Verizon stated, “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."
Latest announcement by AT&T
On Tuesday, AT&T announced that it will upgrade the 3G network nationwide by 2011 to provide users “best 3G experiences”.
There’s a new ad comparing the 3G networks from Verizon and AT&T, in which AT&T claims that it offers better “3G experience” than Verizon Wireless.
ATT coverage is trash.
I have to drive 4 hours to reach an area with 3g. It's truly pathetic. When I called to complain and ask when they would be getting 3g in my area they told me it wouldn't be for a long while. How is Verizon able to do this and ATT can't even cover an 1/8th of the US. PAFUCKINTHETIC.
Previous AT&T customer, Pleased with Verizon
Had AT&T for many years - >
good news = world wide coverage
bad news = not so good in USA
My car broke down while traveling on I-10 near I-75 in FL and I watched the bars drop on my cell coverage as I pulled onto an exit ramp. 500 feet away from the highway, AT&T bars = 0, but my standby cell (Verizon) had full coverage so I could call a tow truck. Go figure...
iPhone Woes...
As a former AT&T Wireless customer, I cannot begin to tell you how atrocious the network and reliability of AT&T are nationwide. I'm with Verizon now and I can't tell you the last time that I had a dropped call.
If AT&T would just start spending some money on their network instead of giving the CEO a fat bonus they may actually be able to rival Verizon. Until then, AT&T has no ground to sue Verizon for telling it like it is.
Of course they'll be able to
Of course they'll be able to provide "best 3g experiences" by 2011. Everyone else will be on 4G. haha AT&T is being petty. They can't blame Verizon for ignorant consumers. I'm with ATT but plan on canceling once my contract is up. So they have until then to impress me enough to change my mind, which if they keep up with their same ignorant attitude as Apple, it will not happen. In response to the petty crap of both companies, I've unlocked my iphone(which Apple has tried to make illegal and was told no), and installed an app to make VOIP calls through ATTs network(which ATT blocks). And I help everyone I can unlock their apple iPhones for free, lol.
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