Verizon Ad Slams AT&T Coverage: “There’s a Map for That”

map-for-that During last night’s Monday Night Football broadcast, Verizon shot across AT&T’s bow with a new ad that capitalizes on the prevalence of complaints about the latter’s network.

The ad leverages a litany of feedback about dropped calls, poor coverage, and slow speeds on AT&T, with a money quote about browsing the web and downloading content at 3G speeds “in five times more places than the nation’s number two wireless carrier.”

Given that iPhone owners tend to be big data users, they are also perhaps the most vocal critics of AT&T’s network as a result of its lackluster 3G coverage. Certainly as compared to Verizon, there’s no contest — which the latter company points out directly in the ad with a play on Apple’s signature tagline for the iPhone: “There’s a map for that.”

The 3G coverage maps of the two companies are displayed above the heads of two college students passing each other, with Verizon’s dense red contrasting starkly with AT&T’s spotty blue.

iPhone Exclusivity Ending?

It’s a timely direct hit, as AT&T is expected to lose its iPhone exclusivity in the U.S. sometime next year (it just happened in Canada as well). Analysts predict iPhone sales could double as a result.

The company is pushing hard to get consumers to consider network coverage and speed as a higher priority than hardware: “Before you pick a phone, pick a network.” Plus, with Verizon and Google getting together to bring Android handsets to the best 3G network in the U.S., they’re hoping to make the available hardware more attractive as well.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think: cheap shot, or fair fight? Verizon is hitting AT&T where it hurts — does it make any of you think twice about renewing your AT&T contracts? Or would VoIP over 3G help to keep you loyal?

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Tags: 3g, android, apple, apple iphone, att, Google, iphone, Mobile 2.0, verizon