Judge Denies AT&T Request to Pull Verizon 3G Ads

The Verizon ads that take aim at AT&T's 3G network will stay on the air – for now. A judge on Wednesday denied AT&T's request to remove the Verizon commercials while the two sides battle it out in court.

Earlier this month, in Georgia district court for what AT&T considers to be false and misleading advertisements. A week later, AT&T asked for a temporary restraining order that would ban Verizon from running the offending ads.

Several commercials show Verizon customers using their phones while full, 3G coverage maps follows behind them. They then flash to an AT&T customer, who is followed by a 3G map with spotty coverage. "If you want to know why some people have spotty 3G coverage, there's a map for that," the narrator says in one of the ads.

AT&T claims that the ads suggest that customers not connected to its 3G network cannot make or receive calls at all, when in fact they are just bumped down to the 2G network and can still operate their phones.

Verizon's response? "AT&T sued because Verizon's ads are true and ," the company said in a court filing.

AT&T wanted the judge to stop Verizon from running five particular commercials – Bench, College, Island of Misfit Toys, Naughty or Nice, and Christmas Blues. The company also wanted Verizon to stop running ads that feature AT&T's 3G coverage area in which AT&T's non-3G coverage spaces are depicted by white or blank spaces.

The judge was not convinced, and denied AT&T's request Wednesday with little discussion. The two sides are scheduled to meet in court again on December 16.