Sprint accuses AT&T of false advertising of 5G service
Sprint has sued AT&T over a branding campaign that it says falsely tells customers they are receiving 5G service on their smartphones, escalating marketing wars between carriers over the next generation of wireless networks.
AT&T in recent weeks has begun putting a “5GE” label on some customers’ smartphone screens to indicate they are receiving higher-bandwidth service, a precursor to its rollout of faster, 5G service. The E in the tag stands for “evolution.”
Sprint alleges in the suit filed Thursday that AT&T is deceiving customers into thinking their 4G LTE wireless service is in fact 5G. It is asking the court to block AT&T from using that tag.
“AT&T is just like Sprint and all the other major wireless carriers currently operating a nationwide 4G LTE network,” a Sprint spokeswoman said. “AT&T’s deceptive ads have harmed consumers by persuading them to purchase or continue purchasing AT&T’s services based on the lie that they are offering 5G,” she added.
A spokesman for AT&T said the carrier introduced the 5G Evolution idea more than two years ago as “an evolutionary step” in building out its 5G network.
“Five G Evolution and the 5GE indicator simply let customers know when their device is in an area where speeds up to twice as fast as standard LTE are available,” he said, adding that the carrier would fight the lawsuit.
The dispute is a sign of fierce competition for subscribers in a saturated U.S. wireless market.
Sprint is joining other wireless carriers in pledging to end relationships with real-time data aggregators, which have led to exposure of users’ location data.