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Dallas-based AT&T on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in Atlanta federal court claiming that Verizon's recent barrage of "There's a Map for That" ads misleadingly imply that AT&T's network has major gaps with no coverage at all.
The ads focus on the two companies' 3G networks, which provide speedy Internet connections to phones and other mobile devices.
A side-by-side comparison of Verizon's 3G coverage shown on a map of the U.S. and a map of AT&T's 3G coverage indicates that Verizon's 3G coverage is much broader than AT&T's, a fact that AT&T does not contest.
What AT&T is upset about is that Verizon only colors in the 3G coverage regions on AT&T's map, leaving the rest of the country white.
It may seem like nitpicking, but AT&T argues in the filing that white spaces on a wireless coverage map are traditionally used to indicate no coverage at all.
But AT&T's slower 2G network is available in most areas where it does not have 3G.
"White space always represents no coverage," said AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel.
"It's a convention used by certain wireless companies, and I think that's exactly what they're doing in these ads. It's fundamentally misleading, in our view."
The campaign, which mocks Apple Inc.'s "There's an App for That" ads for the iPhone, is a major marketing initiative for Verizon.
Verizon said the lawsuit is without merit.
Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Audrey Lundy said that the company has no plans to change the map. "We stand by the map," she said. "If they have a better map, we'd like to see it."
Lundy declined to say whether Verizon would actually be willing to redo the map if AT&T presents an alternative version with different background colors.
AT&T said in the filing that it wants the court to force Verizon Wireless to stop using white space to indicate AT&T's non-3G coverage areas.
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