Man your battleships: T-Mobile and AT&T are already firing shots at each other in their war to be the first carrier to provide satellite-to-cellular coverage. Although neither company has a publicly functional service yet, AT&T is already promoting its technology. T-Mobile fired back by filing a complaint with regulators saying its rival’s marketing is dishonest and misleading. Officials agreed.
Regulators have ordered AT&T to cease running advertisements that falsely claim it is already providing satellite-to-cellular coverage. The telecom giant’s marketing campaign sparked controversy, particularly with rival mobile provider T-Mobile, which challenged the ad’s veracity through the advertising industry’s self-regulatory body, the BBB’s National Advertising Division (NAD).
Plans are already in place for AT&T to offer Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) through a partnership with AST SpaceMobile. This Starlink competitor aims to provide smartphone connectivity via low-Earth-orbit satellites. However, AST’s initial deployment of five satellites is not scheduled until September, meaning the service is unavailable until then and will be severely limited at launch. Although, AT&T’s roadmap point to a rollout closer to 2030.
The Uncarrier took issue with AT&T’s advertisement, which implied that satellite-to-cellular service was already accessible. It lodged its complaint with the NAD, which ruled against AT&T last month. Unhappy with the decision, the company appealed to the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), which has now upheld the NAD’s initial ruling.
“It was not disputed that AT&T does not currently offer SCS coverage to its cellular customers,” the NARB stated.
The board recommended that AT&T discontinue or modify its claim to convey that SCS service is not yet available. Despite disagreeing with the ruling, AT&T has agreed to comply, releasing a revised version of its commercial with more specific disclaimers. The difference between the original (above) and refreshed ad (below) is subtle. Watch for it on the bottom of the screen at the 22 second mark.
The advertisement in question, titled “Epic Bad Golf Day,” features actor Ben Stiller humorously searching for a golf ball in remote locations, eventually using a phone to call champion golfer Jordan Spieth via what appears to be a satellite connection. The carrier argued that the ad’s whimsical nature would prevent consumers from taking its message literally. However, T-Mobile contended that humor does not absolve an advertiser from ensuring that its claims are truthful and not misleading.
The NARB agreed with T-Mobile, stating that the humor in the ad attracted attention but did not negate the implication that SCS service is currently available. The board also found that the original ad’s small-text disclaimer, which described the satellite call as a “demonstration of evolving technology,” could be misleading, as it might suggest the technology is already in use.
Of course, AT&T could have argued that the technology is already technically “in use” since it completed its first satellite-to-cellular call last year and likely several more since. Instead, AT&T smartly updated its ad to clarify that “satellite calling is not currently available,” changing the text to indicate that the technology is forthcoming rather than presently accessible.
