hwy120

AT&T Drops Suit Objecting To Verizon's Map Colors

AT&T and Verizon Wireless are jointly dropping the lawsuit AT&T filed against the colors Verizon used in its 3G coverage maps. AT&T didn't dispute the accuracy of Verizon's ads, and an analyst said the lawsuit was "probably not wise." The judge in the case called Verizon's ads "sneaky" and "clever." But Apple, Inc.'s iPhone is still an AT&T asset.European explorers used to talk about the "blank spots on the map." In 2009, Verizon Wireless talked about the blank spots on AT&T 's 3G coverage map. Now the map wars are over.

On Tuesday, AT&T and Verizon jointly moved to dismiss the lawsuit AT&T filed in an Atlanta federal court. AT&T sued Verizon for a series of television and print ads that depicted AT&T's 3G coverage on a map with major metropolitan areas in blue and the bulk of the country in white or gray.

Verizon's map of its own coverage showed virtually the entire continental United States in red, indicating Verizon's 3G coverage was nearly ubiquitous. The companies engaged in a game of advertising one-upmanship, with each accusing the other of playing fast and loose with the truth.

The Color of 3G

In its lawsuit, AT&T didn't claim that any of the facts in Verizon's ads were false or misleading. The fight was all about color: AT&T didn't like the color Verizon chose to indicate non-3G coverage.

In a memorandum of law accompanying the complaint, AT&T said, "The maps use color to depict the areas of the country in which each carrier has '3G' coverage and blank or white space in the areas of the country where '3G' coverage is not available. Consumers are interpreting the white or blank space on the maps to mean that that AT&T customers who are not in an AT&T '3G' coverage area have no wireless coverage whatsoever."

The judge in the case let AT&T know exactly what he thought of this argument. Speaking from the bench during a Nov. 19 hearing, Judge Timothy C. Batten said, "I think that a person with a skeptical bent of mind might call Verizon's ads sneaky, as I indicated earlier. I think a more sanguine view is that they are simply clever. Either way, however, they are literally true. And the court holds that AT&T has failed to carry its burden of showing that they are nevertheless misleading."

Maps on the Brain

Now that AT&T is retreating with its tail between its legs, what's the fallout from the map wars? Tim Bajarin, principal analyst with Creative Strategies, said in an e-mail, "The AT&T service is problematic depending on where you are in the U.S. The suit was probably not wise, since it just brought more attention to this 3G availability issue."

Still, AT&T's position as the exclusive carrier for the iPhone is still the best argument for AT&T.

"You can't underestimate the draw of the iPhone to the AT&T network , as it is still the best smartphone on the market and Droid has a long way to catch up with it," Bajarin said. "However, with all this noise, Verizon has clearly raised consumers' awareness and made their network something that consumers now must consider when choosing their carrier."