AT&T: More Lame Than Threatening

For quite a while AT&T has seemed like the Death Star: big, full of potential for harm and probably pretty pricey.  After all, AT&T has a huge network, well-established brand name and it's the U.S. mobile carrier that got the exclusive deal on the iPhone.  After all that, it's now starting to look more and more like Chad Vader.  There's an illusion of menace, but in reality it's just bumbling and ineffectual.

When AT&T managed to swing the iPhone deal with Apple it guaranteed itself a brisk business.  I have no idea how much the company actually profited off of the iPhone and how much got passed along to Apple, but after a few years it has become clear that whatever money AT&T has been making, it hasn't been reinvesting it in building top-notch infrastructure.

Verizon's been running ads comparing their 3G coverage with that of AT&T.  AT&T objected, not claiming that their 3G coverage was better than Verizon reported but rather that people would think that no 3G coverage means no coverage at all.  AT&T went so far as to file suit, attempting to convince a court to force Verizon to stop running these ads.  Verizon's response was classic, and the conclusion contained the following gem that sums up the entire issue:

"In the final analysis, 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. AT&T may not like the message that the ads send, but this Court should reject its efforts to silence the messenger."

The court, at least for now, has agreed with Verizon's argument.  There are no factual issues in dispute here.  What AT&T calls misleading are ads that very clearly and accurately describe the 3G coverage of AT&T and compare it with that of Verizon.

Now AT&T has a silly response commercial shot in a cheap venue and a website with nothing but marketing talking points and no statistics or other solid facts for evaluation.

Neither AT&T nor Verizon appeal to me much.  Comparing the two, if I were in a position to chose between the them, I'd most definitely opt for Verizon.  At least the company doesn't whine.