• Reuters, Wednesday, November 4, 2009 12:30 PM

AT&T is suing Verizon in a federal district court in Georgia over TV ads that claim that AT&T has gaps in its coverage areas, Computerworld's Matt Hamblen reports. Verizon's ads suggest that coverage areas outside of AT&T 3G service, which are shown in maps in the ads in white, provide no service. Most of those are covered, AT&T says, albeit with somewhat slower speeds.

"That's misleading and that's why we filed the lawsuit," says AT&T spokesman Mark Siege. The company is seeking an injunction to stop the ads, as well as receive unspecified damages. The ads are not only false and harm AT&T's ability to compete, the company says, but they also are causing it to lose "incalculable market share" and goodwill with customers.

Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney says that the company feels the maps are accurate and that the ads clearly indicate in text that the white areas are places where there is no 3G coverage. The ads "serve to inform customers where coverage is available that's critical to smart phones," according to Raney.

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