AT&T Drops Lawsuit Over Verizon TV Ads

AT&T has reportedly dropped its lawsuit against Verizon that claimed its "There's a Map for That" ad is misleading to potential customers. The two companies may have come to some kind of agreement, but if so the terms of this weren't made public.

The Back Story
In the last month or so, Verizon has been trying to draw in customers with TV ads that point out one of its greatest strengths, its mobile broadband network. Commercials like "Map" and "Misfit Toys" show maps comparing Verizon's 3G coverage area to its largest rival's, with Verizon's being visibly much larger.

These ads caused AT&T to file a lawsuit, arguing that these commercials are misleading potential customers, as they might think the coverage area shown is for voice service, not just 3G service.

In mid-November, there was a hearing for this suit, during which a U.S. District Judge called Verizon's TV ads "sneaky" but not misleading and refused to block them. He didn't throw the lawsuit out, though.

The Ads Roll On
This lawsuit has now been dropped, though, without accomplishing its goal of forcing Verizon to end its series of TV ads comparing 3G coverage maps.

In the mean time, AT&T has begun running ads talking up its 3G coverage area, which it says covers 233 million people or 75% of the U.S. population. 

Source: Business Insider