Verizon and AT&T Heading to Court Over Coverage Maps

Verizon certainly isn’t the first one to question AT&T’s 3G coverage, but it is the one that will be defending its criticism in federal court today. An AT&T lawsuit being considered by the U.S. District Court in Atlanta concerns a series of Verizon commercials that use coverage maps demonstrating Verizon’s 3G network having 5 x the coverage of AT&T’s.

Ironically, AT&T isn’t challenging the veracity of the claim, but rather some technical details of the maps. Its claim is that the white areas on the maps appear to viewers like areas where there is no coverage at all, while they are simply areas that lack 3G. The court is charged with deciding whether the ads are misleading to consumers. AT&T is hoping that the court will order Verizon to pull five individual ads.

According to Verizon’s legal response, ” the truth hurts”. Frankly, that sounds about right, as the maps seem pretty clearly labeled as “3G Coverage” not just “Coverage”.

While the issue at hand may sound rather petty and technical, the case has greater implications as to truthfulness in advertising.  [via USA Today]