AT&T recently sued Verizon over Verizon’s cheeky “There’s a Map for That” commercials, like the one below:
AT&T’s lawsuit claims that Verizon is misleading consumers with the competing 3G and is crying foul over the lack of display for AT&T’s EDGE coverage, which is nowhere near as fast as 3G. If you watch the above commercials with this dispute in mind, you can see that Verizon clearly labels the maps as “3G Coverage” maps. AT&T doesn’t think that’s enough though.
AT&T’s beef boils down the following statement from the complaint it filed:
In essence, we believe the ads mislead consumers into believing that AT&T doesn’t offer ANY wireless service in the vast majority of the country. In fact, AT&T’s wireless network blankets the US, reaching approximately 296M people. Additionally, our 3G service is available in over 9,600 cities and towns. Verizon’s misleading advertising tactics appear to be a response to AT&T’s strong leadership in smartphones. We have twice the number of smartphone customers… and we’ve beaten them two quarters in a row on net post-paid subscribers. We also had lower churn — a sign that customers are quite happy with the service they receive.
Sounds like a big whining session to me. AT&T also saw fit to “set the record straight” with a PR release:
As the U.S. market leader in wireless data service, we typically don’t respond to competitors’ advertising. However, some recent ads from Verizon are so blatantly false and misleading, that we want to set the record straight about AT&T’s wireless data coverage.
Really AT&T? What’s false about those 3G coverage maps?
And then, there’s the EDGE network:
With both 3G and EDGE coverage, customers can access the Internet, send e-mail, surf the Web, stream music, download videos, send photos, text, talk and more. The only difference – with some data applications, 3G is faster than EDGE
I’ve been a rather unhappy AT&T customer for about 18 months now. I bought the iPhone 3G shortly after its release. I switched from US Cellular, which provided very reliable service and maybe dropped one or two calls over the 3-4 years I was with them. AT&T has been a much different story.
I’m inside one of the blue splotches of AT&T 3G coverage; however, a decent 3G signal is hit or miss on any given day on my iPhone 3G. Those of you with iPhones understand that it just isn’t the same phone on AT&T’s EDGE network. I have trouble even sending and receiving email over EDGE. So, for AT&T to tout EDGE as a practical solution for the iPhone 3G or any other 3G-capable smart phone is a bit misleading in and of itself.
As much as I love my iPhone, the day my 2-year contract is up, I’m switching to Verizon. It’s not because Verizon has tricked me with its There’s a Map for That Ads. No, it’s because of the facts behind the ads. The fact is Verizon smartphone users don’t have the same 3G coverage hiccups that AT&T iPhone users have. All my friends in the area who use Verizon have repeatedly told me that they just don’t have the same problems with getting a decent signal as I experience on my iPhone 3G. There’s a reason why late night talk show hosts make jokes about dropped calls on AT&T’s network – the truth hurts sometimes – AT&T coverage sucks.
You know this. I know this. Verizon knows this.
In response to AT&T’s lawsuit, Verizon stated in it’s answer the following:
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.
And, the big one that sums it all up:
AT&T seeks emergency relief because Verizon’s side-by-side, apples-to-apples comparison of its own 3G coverage with AT&T’s confirms what the marketplace has been saying for months: AT&T failed to invest adequately in the necessary infrastructure to expand its 3G coverage to support its growth in smartphone business, and the usefulness of its service to smartphone users has suffered accordingly.
Eat that AT&T.
For those of you who think AT&T is getting the short end of the stick from Verizon’s ads, consider this: AT&T won’t even show you it’s nationwide 3G coverage on it’s coverage map.
If you click on “Data” as a coverage type, the map turns blue. Speaking of misleading…
I mentioned that you can’t select 3G to see what nationwide 3G coverage looks like from AT&T. Instead, you have to click a link so see 3G coverage “in select areas,” which takes you to a city-by-city list. If you click on a state, the link takes you to a list of cities in that state instead of a 3G coverage map of the state.
Click on a city and you’re zoomed way in so the whole map view at the city-level shows 3G coverage.
WOW! That’s awesome! Look how much 3G coverage that AT&T has . . . in Atlanta. And, it’s blue – just like the “Data” map. Just a coincidence, I’m sure.
Try zooming back out to the nationwide view and the 3G coverage color splotches disappear. However, I took a couple of screenshots and stitched them together in order to try to get a nationwide view of what AT&T’s 3G coverage looks like.
Wait, that looks familiar. It looks just like Verizon said it does.
In fact, Verizon looks like it may have been a little generous with AT&T’s coverage map.
AT&T has been tooting it’s horn in a 3G marketing campaign with tag lines like “more bars in more places” and “the nation’s fastest 3G network.” It’s time for AT&T to eat some crow.
See, AT&T will lose exclusivity to the iPhone someday. Maybe not for another year or so, but that day will come. And when that day comes, AT&T either needs to have a superior network and service in place, or prepare for a mass exodus. iPhone or not, I’m gone in 6 months. Verizon has plenty of smartphones to choose from now, and they’ll have the iPhone in the not-so-distant future.
User experience trumps marketing fluff every time. You’ve gotten a lot of leeway with the iPhone AT&T. People are forgiving of you because you nailed an exclusive deal with Apple’s killer device. However, you are squandering that trust AT&T – your weak lawsuit highlights your service’s inadequacies.
Remember the sound advice that Uncle Ben offered to Peter Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
AT&T, you’re choking.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Watching the iphone grow and evolve is like watching a child you wanted to adopt raised by someone else for years and years. All you want to do is to say ‘hi’ to them; let them know you care; maybe talk to them. But you can’t, because they are under the custody and care of an incompetent parent named AT&T who won’t even let them out of the house. Sounds kind of creepy,sure; but I have wanted an iphone since they were invented, and so has my wife. But she is in charge of our cell phone account, and there is no way on this green Earth that we will ever switch from Verizon to AT&T. We had our experience with AT&T, and it was underwhelming, to put it mildly. We could buy a pair of ipods, as toys, for the both of us, and then we could play Dick Tracy, with our 2-way wrist TVs. But why? We need phones. An ipod is fun, but with our Verizon plan, which we’ve had for years, we could get 2 iphones for the price of one ipod, and have the same thing, double, with PHONES in them! But it’ll never happen until our little friends escape from the clutches of the Mad Family of AT&T. And you know why? Because having an iphone with AT&T is like having an ipod touch. It’s got all the bells and whistles the ipod has, but without the cell phone service. Unless you’re lucky enough to live in one of those tiny blue areas on the “map”, the great majestic Alpha Dog of all smartphones that Steve has touted at conference after conference for so many years is just a stubborn, neutered little ankle biter. A toy. A cool toy, to be sure, but still a toy. A gaming console; a camera; an iPod.
I wish I could go back in time five years and plead with Steve Jobs, Verizon, or anybody else relevant, to just stay the hell away from AT&T and lock the iphone into Verizon — do whatever they had to do with the architecture, to make it work. I’m not an expert on 3G systems or Wi-Fi, but I know that if they could have put the iPhone into its rightful place, Apple and Verizon (or Sprint, or T-Mobile, or whoever had the coverage then to pull it off), would have OWNED the cellular communications market. OWNED IT — WORLDWIDE. And while it almost seems like they’ve missed the boat, what with all the smartphones flooding the market, I still think that Apple has the best product, and enough Brand Recognition, to get back a huge heap of what it missed. But goddammit, if it doesn’t happen soon, we’re gonna run out of patience, and somebody’s going to come along with a super – gadget. A 5G WI-FI super smart global phone and 24P super hi-def cinema production system and recording studio that gives you an orgasm and makes waffles, while it sits in your pants pocket; and even if it ain’t all it’s cracked up to be, it’ll look cooler, have a cooler name, and slip in under the wire, because it will have THE WHOLE MAP COVERED.
It’s just a matter of time, Steve. Please give us a Verizon IPhone. I guarantee you tens of millions of new customers.
Dude the reason why Steve went with AT&T for the last iPhones because they are more reliable service than Verizon. Verizon got lucky when they said they are giving Verizon a chance. When the new iPhone comes out this summer it will only be available on AT&T because its the fastest 4G out there and according to Verizon website there 4G maps are only in 50 markets and AT&T has double the amount maybe triple. So get your facts straight thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your information about AT&T are so wrong its hilarious to read this stupid article. I had Verizon and I lost connection almost everywhere I went. Now I have AT&T my coverage is not a hit and miss it’s 100% reliable then Verizon. So before agreeing with a false TV ad know the facts