Verizon wins first of many battles in the “Great Carrier Wars of ’09″

Unless you’ve been living under a rock without a TV, radio, or other form of communication, you’ve no doubt heard about the small dispute going on between Verizon and AT&T. It all started when Verizon started launching ads that compared their 3G to AT&T’s 3G. Obviously AT&T’s map has a lot less color highlighting their inferior 3G network. Obviously not too thrilled, AT&T responded with a lawsuit not arguing against Verizon’s claims, but instead labeling them misleading. (Is this not admission of an inferior network by sidestepping the issue?) After seeing one of the many commercials, — and you’ve had to have seen at least one — where they really that misleading? I certainly didn’t think so. As Verizon claimed in their 53-page rebuttal, they called it as it is and bluntly stated “The truth hurts”. Not to mention, the revised ads clearly stated the maps showed 3G coverage and that 2.5G networks added additional coverage not depicted. Come on people, do they need to hold your hand too…? And so begins the legal war.

Today was the first court appearance for the two dueling wireless providers to make their case in front of a judge. Cutting through all of the legal verbiage that most don’t understand and few care about, I’ll get right to it — AT&T lost. Their motion to have Verizon’s ads immediately yanked from national TV were cried out in vain. So at the beginning, Verizon has a small 1 to 0 lead. But the war is far from over. December 16th will see another court room showdown between the two adversaries. Do you feel AT&T will have any victories to claim in this way of the worlds? Until then we can all get in the Christmas spirit with their seems-like-they’re-always-on misfit iPhone/AT&T commercials. ‘Tis the season…

Engadget