AT&T and Verizon Drop Suits, not Map Comparison Ads

Rival cell phone carriers, AT&T and Verizon have now dropped their lawsuits against each other, but we have learnt that Verizon will continue to use its map comparisons in ads. This news comes after both companies announced increases in shares; AT&T shares were up 0.6 pct while Verizon’s were up 0.8 pct.

The suit was all started because of the maps that showed Verizon had 5x more 3G coverage than AT&T, but we have to wonder why they will still continue to run those ads. The TV ads certainly had a much bigger impact than Verizon could ever have imaged, so should they now pull the ads?

On a number of occasions we mentioned that AT&T were not happy over the ads and decided to take the matter to court. AT&T had hopped to get the coverage maps, saying that they were misleading, but the courts did not grant the lawsuit.

According to Reuters, AT&T announced on Wednesday that they had dropped the lawsuit against Verizon, but they did not give any clues as to why. Verizon must have been feeling in the Christmas spirit, as they also dropped their lawsuit on the same day.

Do you see this as a positive sign, or is Verizon’s decision to still run the ads a kick in the teeth for Verizon?